LIBRARY 

AT 

PRI]\€ET01V,  W.  J. 

DONAl'ION    OF 

S  A  M  U  JB  L    A  a  N  E  W  , 

nK     P  H  1  L  i  !>(■:  L  H  H  I  A  .    PA. 


Letter 


No. 


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1844. 


No. 


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Case     C)'vision.'i,^.Sv*Ate-<. 

J      .     Shelf?  i:Cc;i0n..S<./.C?.7. 
\j        Booh,  i^  — -  I 


&-■<■ 


t     f- 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF   A 


PUBLIC  DELIBERATIVE  MEETING 


OF  THE  BOARD  AND  FRIENDS  OF  THE 

AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY, 


HELD  IN   THE  BROADWAY   TABERNACLE,  NEW- YORK, 
October  25,  26,  and  27,  1842 ; 

TOCETHSR   WITfl   THE 

DOCUMENTS   PRESENTED, 

AND    THE 

SERMON    PREACHED, 
Oil  tliat  occasion. 


NEW-YOUK  : 

PHINTED    Br    DANIEL    FANSH AW, 
No.  150  Nassau-street. 

1843. 


Object  of  the  meeting, * '-^  *^*^i|^^!^i??& ' 

Members  and  friends  present, 9 

Organization, , 11 

Letters  read,  including  letters  from 

Rev.  Dr.  Hooker,  Vermont, 11 

Hon.  Charles  Marsh,  do 11 

Rev.  Dr.  Codman,  Massachusetts, 12 

Rev.  Dr.  Bolles,  Boston, 12 

Rev.  Mr.  Vinton,  do .  12 

Rev.  Mr.  Kirk,      do 12 

Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey,  Massachusetts, 13 

Rev.  Dr.  Wayland,  R.I 14 

Rev.  Joseph  Hurlbut,  Connecticut, 14 

Rev.  Prof.  Goodrich,  do 14 

Rev.  J.  M'Cord,  New-York, 15 

Dr.  T.  W.  Blatchford,  Troy, 15 

E.  C.  Delavan,  Esq.  Ealston, 16 

Rev.  Tryon  Edwards,  Rochester, ;     .     .  16 

Hon.  J.  C.  Hornblower,  New  Jersey, 16 

Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  do ;     .     .  16 

Rev.  J.  H.  Jones,  Philadelphia, 17 

Rev.  Mr.  Suddards,      do 18 

Rev.  Dr.  Parker,  do 18 

Rev.  Dr.  Plumer,  Virginia, 18 

Other  letters,  inserted  in  the  order  of  the  meeting. 
Sermon  by  Rev.  James  Romeyn.    See  page  168. 

DOCUMENT  I. — Harmony  of  the  Society's  Proceed- 
ings, by  Rev.  Dr.  Milnor, 19 

Report  on  the  same, 26 

Address  of  Rev.  Mr.  M'Clure, 26 

Letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sharp,  Boston, 27 


6  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
DOCUMENT  II. — Pbovibential  History  of  the  Society, 

by  Rev.  W.  A.  Hallock.    Read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Edwards,     .       2S 

Address  of  Dr.  Edwards, 31 

Letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Woods, 32 

DOCUMENT  III.— The  Power  of  the  Press,  for  Good 

AND  FOR  Evil,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook, 33 

DOCUMENT  IV.— The  Evils  of  an  Unsanctified  Lite- 
rature, by  Rev.  James  W.  Alexander.    Read  by  Rev. 

Dr.  Potts, 44 

Rev.  Gorham  D.  Abbotfs  Report  of  a  Committee  on  the  Press,        59 
Letter  of  Hon.  William  Jay, 70 

DOCUMENT  v. — The  Character  of  the  Society's  Pub- 
lications,  AND    THEIR    ADAPTATION    TO    THE    PRESENT 

generation  OF  MEN,  by  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Williams,  D.  D.         72 

DOCUMENT  VI.  —The  Society's  Publications  an  Aid  to 
Pastoral  Effort,  By  Rev.  Tryon  Edwards.    Read  by 

Rev.  Dr.  M'Auley, 96 

Statements  and  Addresses  by — 

Rev.  Dr.  M'Auley,       101 

Rev,  R.  K.  Rodgers, 101 

Rev.  Dr.  B.  C.  Taylor, 102 

Rev.  R.  S.  Cook, 103 

Rev.  A.  D.  Smith, 104 

Mr.  Heman  Packard, 106 

Rev.  Edwin  Holt, - 107 

Rev.  H.  P.  Arms, 107 

Letter  of  Rev.  J.  Hopkins, 107 

DOCUMENT  VII.— The  Colporteur  System— 

I.  ^45  adapted  to  the  Unevangelized  American  Population ^ 

by  Rev.  R.  S.  Cook, 108 

Statements  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook, 112 

Report  on  the  Colporteur  System, 114 


CONTENTS.  7 

Page. 

Statements  by  Charles  Butler,  Esq 116 

Address  of  Rev.  Dr.  Miliior, 116 

Letters  of  Hon.  Roger  Minot  Sherman, 117 

"        Rt.  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith,  Kentucky, 118 

«        Rev.  J.  T.  Brook,  Cincinnati, 118 

«        W.  H.  Bulk-ley,  Louisville,  .     .......  119 

2.  The  Colporteur  System  as  adapted  to  our  German  Popu- 

lation,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook.  Read  by  Rev.  Mr.  Eastman,  1 19 

Address  of  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt, 122 

«            Rev.  J.  C.  Guldin, 123 

Letters  of  Rev.  Prof.  Sears, 124 

«          Rev.  Prof.  Nevin, 125 

«          Rev.  Prof.  Stowe, .  126 

3.  The  Colporteur  System  as  adapted  to  the  conversion  of 

Errorists,  by   Rev.  Mr.   Cook.    Read  by  Rev.  Dr. 

Adams, 126 

Address  of  Rev.  Dr.  Adams, 128 

Statements  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook, 130 

Report  on  the  Colporteur  System  as  adapted  to  Germans 

and  Errorists, 131 

DOCUMENT  VIIL— Every  Christian  a  Missionary,  pre- 
sented by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook, 133 

Statements  by  F.  A.  Perkins,  Esq 137 

Letter  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Backus, .137 

DOCUMENT  IX. — Relations  or  the  Society  to  Foreign 

Lands,  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Hallock, 138 

Statements  by  Rev.  Dr.  Armstrong, 145 

Letters  from  Rev.  S.  Peck,  Secretary, 145 

"             Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,     . 146 

"             Rev.  Justin  Perkins,  Missionary, 146 

"             Rev.  H.  R.  Hoisington,     do.     ; 147 

"             Rev.  John  Scudder,            do 147 

DOCUMENT  X.— The  Financial  Condition  and  Neces- 

siTiES  OF  the  Society,  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Ilallock,     .     .     .  149 


8  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Statements  and  Address  of  Rev.  Mr.  Eastman,      ....  154 

Address  of  William  Ropes,  Esq.  late  of  Russia,    ....  155 

Letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander, 156 

"         Herman  Camp,  Esq 158 

«          Rev.  Dr.  Yale, 159 

DOCUMENT  XL— The  Necessity  of  a  Higher  Stand- 
ard OF  Christian  Consecration,  by  Hon.  Theodore 

Frelinghuysen, 1^^ 

Statements  by  Rev.  Dr.  B.  H.  Rice, 164 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  meeting, 164 

Concluding  Remarks, 166 


SERMON,  by  Rev.  James  Romeyn, 168 

I.   The  Occasion  for  evangelical  sympathy  and  effort,      .      Ser.  5 

How  Paul  preached — at  Athens,  &c 9 

The  same  occasion  yet  remains— in  a  corrupt  theology 
and  literature — in  defective  education — in  the  issues  of 
a  fictitious  and  licentious  press— hollowness  of  its  mo- 
rality,      12 

n.  The  means  of  meeting  our  respo7isibilitics,    .     ;     .     .     .       29 
The  Society's  publications  are  Divine  truth— catholic- 
adapted— necessaiy-their  variety — providential  cha- 
racter and  blessed  results, 32 

Necessity  of  new  vigor  in  this  department— certainty  of 
the  issue — necessity  for  self-preservation — false  pleas- 
permanency,      53 


./  PliinC^TGIT    \ 


•^\ 


PEOCEEDI^^^  TIEOLOGIG±Li 

OF    THE  - . . , w  -  :     " 

BOARD   AND   FRIENDS   OF   THE 

AMERICAN  TRACT   SOCIETY, 

At  the  Broadway  Taheruacic,  Xew-York. 

This  meeting  was  called  from  a  conviction  that  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  conducting  the  Society  in  its  career  of  usefulness, 
was  largely  in  advance  of  the  general  apprehensions  of  the 
christian  community;  and  that  careful  attention  to  its  several 
spheres  of  labor,  and  discussion  of  the  principles  involved, 
would  give  definiteness  to  the  conceptions  of  many  as  to  its 
character  and  objects,  and  thus  awaken  prayer,  liberality,  and 
persevering  effort  to  bless  the  world  with  these  means  of  grace. 

It  is  believed  that  every  intelligent  reader  of  the  following 
sketch  of  the  proceedings,  will  perceive  that  ample  foundations 
were  laid  for  gaining  the  ends  desired.  Whether  we  consider 
the  character  of  the  able  documents  presented,  or  the  cheering 
and  valuable  letters  from  distinguished  individuals  who  were 
unable  to  attend,  or  the  more  definite  views  gained  of  the 
great  objects  before  the  Society,  or  the  impulse  given  to  the 
mind  of  those  present,  and  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  reach  tens 
of  thousands  of  others,  there  appears  abundant  cause  of  grati- 
tude to  God  that  the  Meeting  has  been  held. 

We  proceed  to  the  history  of  the  proceedings,  simply  re- 
marking that,  for  the  sake  of  distinctness  of  impression,  the 
Documents,  reports  of  Committees,  Addresses,  and  letters  read, 
are  given  as  far  as  practicable  in  the  natural  order  of  the  sub- 
jects discussed. 

On  Tuesday,  4  P.  M.  Oct.  25,  the  meeting  assembled. 

Present,  The  Hon.  THEODORE  FRELINGHUYSEN,  Presi- 
dent, in  the  chair;  William  B.  Crosby,  Esq.  of  New- York,  and  John 
Tappan,  Esq.  of  Boston,  Vice-Presidents. 


10  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Rev.  James  Milnor,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Thomas  McAuley,  D.  D.,  Rer. 
John  Knox,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Justin  Edwards,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Charles  G. 
Sommers,  John  Stearns,  M.  D. ;  Moses  Allen,  R.  T.  Haines,  Edward 
Richardson,  T.  C.  Doremus,  James  C.  Bliss,  M.  D.,  James  VV. 
L>ominick,  William  Forrest,  Executive  Committee. 

Rev.  Messrs.  William  A.  Hallock,  O.  Eastman,  R.  S.  Cook,  Cor- 
responding Secretaries. 

Rev.  Messrs.  Baron  Stow,  Garham  D.  Abbott,  A.  McClure,  Selh 
Bliss,  Henry  B.  Holmes,  and  George  Denncy,  Esq.  Delegates  from  the 
Branch  American  Tract  Society  at  Boston.  Rev.  J.  J.  Dana,  Canaan, 
Delegate  from  Berkshire  Co.  Mass.  Tract  Society.  Charles  Hosmer, 
Calvin  Day,  Thomas  Smith,  and  Allen  Porter,  Esqs.  Delegates  from 
the  Conn.  Branch  Tract  Society,  Hartford.    Rev.  Messrs.  George 
Potts,  D.  D.,  William  Patton,  D.  D.,  William  R.  Williams,  D.  D., 
John  M.  Krebs,  D.  D.,  M.  S.  Hutton,  D.  D.,  Asa  D.  Smith,  Isaac 
S.  Demund,  and  Elisha  Tucker  ;  William  W.  Chester,  Esq.  A.  R. 
Wetmore,  Esq.  William  N.  Blakeman,  M.  D,  and  John  R.  Ludlow, 
Esq.  Delegates  from  the  New- York  City  Tract  Society.    B.  C.  Cut- 
ler, D.  D°,  Rev.  Messrs.  William  B.  Lewis,  George  Duffield,  Jun. 
A.  D.  Matthews,  J.  Roland  and  S.  Backus,  Delegates  from  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  Tract  Society.    Rev.  Messrs.  Murdock  and  S.  B.  Willis  and 
Edger  B.  Day,  Esq.  Delegates  from  Catskill,  N.  Y.  Tract  Society. 
Messrs.  Day  O.  Kellogg  and  Kingsbury  Pvoot,  Delegates  from  Aux- 
iliary, Troy,  N.  Y.  William  Purves,  Esq.  Delegate  from  Philadelphia 
Tract  Society.  Rev.  Thomas  De  Wilt,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Isaac  Lewis,  D.  D., 
Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Erskine  Mason,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
"William  J.  Armstrong,  D.  D.,  Rev.  John  A.  Vaughan,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
William  Adams,  D.D.,  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Messrs. 
John  C.  Lowrie,  James  Harkness,  George  II.  Fisher,  J.  O.  Choules, 
John  C.  Guldm,  Samuel  I.  Prime,  John  Marsh,  Milton  Badger,  N.  E. 
Johnson,  Charles  Hall,  J.  J.  Ostrom,  J.  C.  Brigham,  Ebenczer  Masou 
J.  W.  Cooke,  J.  W.  McLane,  A.  Camp,  B.  Lockwood,  Geo.  Hatt;  and 
Messrs.  D.  W.  C.  Olyphant,  Esq.  John  L.  Mason,  Esq.  Charles  But- 
ler, Esq.  William  Couch,  Geo.  P.  Shipman,  Stephen  Holt,  Timothy 
Hedges,  Esq.  H.  W.  Olcoit,  Esq.  B.  L.  Woolley,  Caleb  O.  Halsted. 
Jacob  Brouwer,  D.  H.  Winkhara,  William  Shaw,  Tilley  Allen,  Edward 
Field,  Daniel  Fanshaw,  F.  B.  Schoalcs,  Nathaniel  Gray,  J.  H.  Bulin, 
J.  B.  Horton,  Charles  Starr,  and  F.  S.  Gant,  New- York  City.  Mr. 
Heman  Packard,  N.  Bridgwater,  Ms. ;  J.  B.  Nichols,  Prov.  R.  I. ;  Rev. 
Hiram  P.  Arms  andF.  A.  Perkins,  Esq.  Norwich,  Con. ;  Hon.  Thomas 
"W.   Williams,    New    London,    Con.  ;    Rev.    John    Smith,   Wilton, 
Rev.  Jarcd  Dewin?,  Fishkill ;  Rev.  Henry  Hecrmance,  Kinderhook  ; 
Rev.  P.  Snvder,  New  Rochelle  ;  Rev.  Jacob  D.  Fonda,  Rev.  Henry 
Hurlbut,  Utica;   Rev.  James  Romeyn,  Catskill;    D.  W.  IngcrsolK 
Brooklyn  ;  Nathaniel  Gardner,  Brooklyn  ;  Rev.  B.  C.  Taylor,  D.  D., 
Bergen,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  A.  D.  Eddy,  J.  W.  Hayes,  Esq.  and  John  Tay- 
lor, Newark,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  David  Magie,  D,  JD.  and  Rev.  N.  Murray, 
Elizabethtown  ;  Rev.  R.  K.  Rogers,  Boundbrook  ;  Samuel  E.  Wood- 
bridge,  Perth-Amboy  ;    Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  Princeton  ; 
Horace  Leet,  Penn. ;  Rev.  I.  G.  Hamner,  Baltimore;  Rev.  B.  M. 
Palmer,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  William  Ropes,  Esq.  late  from  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, Russia;  Rev.  Hiram  Bingham,  Sandwich  Islands.    Hua- 


LETTERS   RECEIVED.  \  11 

^reds  of  other  interested  individuals  were  present  at  the  Meetings 
during  the  day,  and  large  assemblies  participated  in  the  evening  ex- 
ercises with  devout  and  solemn  attention. 

The  exercises  were  commenced  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Baron 
Stow  of  Boston. 

In  the  absence  of  Rev.  A.  Maclay,  Recording  Secretary,  Rev. 
Elisha  Tucker  and  Rev.  Edwin  Holt  were  appointed  Secreta- 
ries of  the  Meeting-,  and  Rev.  L  O.  Choules,  Secretary  pro.  tern. 

The  Document  calling  the  meeting  was  then  read,  and  the 
Rev.  Drs.  Milnor,  Edwards  and  Patton,  and  Messrs.  Hallock, 
Eastman  and  Cook,  were  appointed  a  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments. 

Letters  were  read  expressing  deep  interest  in  the  objects  of 
the  Meeting  and  regret  fur  unavoidable  absence,  from  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen,  together  with  letters  hereafter  inserted  in 
the  sketch  of  the  proceedings:  viz. 

Rev.  Nehemiah  Adams,  Boston,  Ms.  ;  Hon.  Simon  Grecnlfraf, 
Cambridge  ;  Joseph  Otis,  Esq.  Norwich,  Con.;  A.  W.  Butler,  Esq. 
Hartford  ;  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.  New  Haven  ;  Rev.  Wm.  B. 
Sprague,  D.  D.  Albanv  ;  Henrv  Dwight,  Esq.  Geneva  ;  Rev.  James 
W.  Alexander,  Princeton,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  Drs.  S.  H.  Tyng,  Geo.  M. 
Bethune  and  Albert  Barnes,  Philadelphia  ;  Rev.  William  Carey  Crane, 
Richmond,  Va.  ;  Rev.  Edward  P.  Humphrey,  and  Wm.  H.  Bulkeley, 
Louisville,  Ky.  ;  Rev,  B.  Tappan,  D.  D.,  Augusta,  Me,  ;  Rev.  J. 
Helfenstcin,  Germanto".^n,  Pa. 

From  Rev.  E.  \Y.  Hooker,  D.  D.  Bennington,  Vt. 

"My  heart  has  been,  is,  and  shall  be  in  the  great  and  good  enter- 
prise of  the  American  Tract  Society,  and  will  be  with  you  in  the 
contemplated  meeting.  The  subjects  proposed  for  consideration  are 
great,  and  in  my  view  vital  to  the  enterprise  ;  and  I  should  love  to 
be  present,  and  render  any  aid  in  my  pov/er,  in  the  deliberations  rela- 
tive to  them.  May  '  the  good  Spirit  of  the  Lord'  be  present  to  influ- 
ence, counsel  and  guide  all  who  shall  attend." 

From  Hon.  Charles  Marsh,  Woodstock,  Vt. 
"  The  Meeting,  I  doubt  not,  will  be  one  of  great  interest,  and  I 
trust  and  pray  that  it  may  be  attended  and  followed  by  the  Divine 
blessing.  I  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  say  that  my  age  and  infirmi- 
ties, being  now  in  my  seventy-eighth  year,  forbid  my  attending  on 
this  interesting  occasion.  I  hope  that  the  deliberations  will  render 
the  path  of  duty  plain,  in  relation  to  the  important  measures  to  bo 
adopted,  and  be  followed  with  most  happy  results. 


12  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

"The  agency  of  humble  and  pious  Colporteurs  in  carrying  Tracts 
and  Volumes  to  the  huts  and  hovels  of  the  poor,  seems  to  me  a  most 
promising  mode  of  distribution." 

From  the  Rev.  John  Codman,  D.  D.  Dorchester,  Mass. 
"I  regret  that  a  singular  combination  of  arrangements  ecclesiasti- 
cal, parochial  and  domestic,  the  present  week,  must  deprive  me  of 
the  pleasure  I  should  otherwise  experience  in  meeting  with  so  many 
esteemed  friends,  and  consulting  with  them  on  the  best  method  of 
promoting  an  enterprise  which  I  consider  second  to  none  of  the 
benevolent  ol)jects  that  distinguish  the  day  in  which  we  live." 

From  Rev.  L.  Boiler  D.  D.  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Board,  dated  at  Hartford,  Con. 
"  I  fondly  hoped  to  bewith  the  managers  and  friends  of  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society  at  their  meeting  this  day ;  and  for  that  purpose 
left  home  and  came  to  this  city,  but  my  very  slender  health,  and  the 
state  of  the  weather  forbid  me  to  proceed.  I  consider  the  occasion 
one  of  great  interest,  and  pray  God  to  preside  over  all  your  delibera- 
tions and  acts.  Hitherto  the  enterprises  of  the  Society  have  been  con- 
ducted in  the  genuine  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  have  been  signally 
approved  of  Heaven,  and  I  have  great  confidence  that  they  v^'ill  so 
continue  to  be  owned." 

From  Rev.  Alexander  H.  Viyiton,  Boston,  Mass. 
"  I  am  at  length  obliged  to  say  that  my  engagements,  some  of 
them  special,  will  prevent  my  being  present  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Board.  I  regret  this  the  less  inasmuch  as  you  have  the  prospect,  if 
not  the  promise,  of  so  large  a  representation  from  the  Episcopal 
Church.  In  the  devout  hope  that  the  cause  may  receive  a  new  and 
saving  impulse  through  this  meeting,  I  am  &c." 

From  Rev.  E.  N.  Kirk,  dated  at  Andover,  Mass. 

"  It  grieves  me  to  refuse  you  any  thing,  but  especially  this  request. 
Yet  I  believe  I  know  the  Master's  will.  My  duties  at  present  are 
here,  and  not  there. 

"  I  rejoice  that  you  have  adopted  the  method  of  calling  an  extra 
meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Tract  Society,  to  throw  the  responsi- 
bility of  decision  on  them.  Our  Executive  Committees  have  acted 
too  much,  and  have  been  treated  too  much  as  if  they  were  the  Socie- 
ties, and  the  Church  has  seemed  to  act  as  if  it  were  a  great  exercise 
of  charity  in  her  to  help  them  when  they  have  brought  themselves 
into  a  strait.  Oh,  my  dear  brother,  how  little  is  there  of  genuine 
principle  in  the  reljgion  of  the  Church  !    Yet  there  is  improvement, 


LETTERS    RECEIVED.  13 

progress,  which  the  course  you  are  now  adopting  is  calculated  to  ad- 
vance. Tell  the  members  of  Christ's  holy  Church,  bought  with  his 
blood,  redeemed  from  hell,  on  the  verge  of  glory  and  riches  and 
bliss  interminable,  tell  them  that  Christ's  cause  languishes  ;  ask 
them  if  it  must  be  so  any  longer  1" 

From  Rev.  Heman  Humphry,  D.  D.  Pesident  of  Amherst  Coll.  Mass. 

"  Your  call  will,  I  doubt  not,  have  the  cordial  approbation  of  all 
the  friends  and  patrons  of  the  American  Tract  Society.  It  is  meet 
that  they  should  come  together,  when  they  can  have  more  time  for 
prayer  and  deliberation,  than  can  be  allowed  at  the  Anniversaries.  I 
hope  there  will  be  a  full  attendance,  and  that  God  will  be  with  you  in 
every  deed.  I  rely  more  and  more  upon  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
to  carry  forward  the  work  of  the  Lord,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
your  and  other  kindred  Societies. 

"  It  is  exceedingly  encouraging  and  affecting  to  see  how  much 
faster  God  is  opening  the  world  to  evangelical  efforts,  in  answer  to 
prayer,  than  the  Church  is  prepared  to  take  possession.  Let  any  one 
go  hdick  Jive  and  twenty  yesiTS,  and  consider  what  a  small  beginning  had 
then  been  made;  let  him  compare  it  with  what  has  since  been  done, 
and  help  exclaiming,  if  he  can,  'what  hath  God  wrought!  It  is 
the  Lord's  doing  and  marvellous  in  our  eyes.'  But  then,  what  wide 
regions  of  the  earth  remain  yet  to  be  possessed.  Shall  the  churches 
gird  on  their  armour  and  go  up  and  take  possession,  or  shall  they  stay 
and  die  by  the  stuff. 

"  What  might  not  be  done  by  the  press,  in  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe,  if  means  of  employing  its  mighty  agency  were  furnished. 
The  press  never  requires  a  year,  nor  an  hour  to  get  acclimated.  It 
is  equally  safe  under  the  burning  Line  and  the  Arctic  circle.  The 
Cholera  cannot  touch  it ;  the  deadly  miasmas  of  Western  Africa  can- 
not affect  it ;  it  cannot  suffer  from  cold,  or  hunger,  or  nakedness. 
When  once  abroad  on  missionary  ground,  it  is  never  obliged  to  re- 
turn with  an  invalid  family,  nor  to  recruit  its  own  exhausted  energies. 
However  rapidly  the  living  teachers  may  follow  each  other  to  the 
grave,  the  press  never  dies. 

"  And  then,  the  Tracts  and  bound  volumes  which  your  Society  is 
sowing  broadcast  over  this  great  country,  and  aiding  other  Societies  to 
print  and  scatter  abroad  in  a  hundred  heathen  tongues,  who  can  es- 
timate, who  could  estimate  if  he  had  the  arithmetic  of  angels,  the 
amount  of  good  which  has  already  been  done  :  still  less,  what  golden 
harvests  are  yet  to  spring  up  under  this  heaven-blessed  cultivation. 
Some  of  these  Tracts  may  be  spurned  under  foot,  but  they  feel  no 
pain,  no  discouragement.     Many   of   them  may  be   lost,  but   how 


14}  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

easily  can  they  be  replaced.  What  though  some  thonands  of  your 
bound  volumes  should  be  laid  away  to  sleep  quietly  upon  dusty 
shelves,  how  many  hundred  thousands  will  be  doing  iheir  work  in  the 
hands  of  a  million  of  readers. 

"  Let  Home  and  Foreign  Missionaries  do  all  they  can.  Let  their 
numbers  be  greatly  increased.  But  if  our  country  is  saved,  if  tho 
world  is  ever  evangelized,  it  must  be,  I  am  persuaded,  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  religious  press,  as  much  as  any  other  human  agency. 
It  is  the  true  Archemedian  lever,  and  the  Bible  is  the  pou  sio.  I  be- 
lieve that  no  Society  in  the  world  has  done  more  than  the  American 
Tract  Society  in  proportion  to  its  means,  to  develope  the  mighty 
power  of  the  Press,  when  brought  directly  to  bear  upon  the  highest 
interests  of  mankind  ;  and  I  look  upon  this  developement  as  a  mere 
carrat  of  what  may  be  done  ;  of  what  will  be  done  under  the  smiles  of 
gracious  Heaven,  by  scattering  '  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  fur  the 
healing  of  the  nations.' 

"  I  send  you  this  trifle  (-f  5),  for  foreign  distribution.  Would  that  I 
could  add  to  it  a  hundred  fold.  May  the  Lord  vouchsafe  such  dis- 
coveries of  his  holiness  and  glory  to  the  meeting,  as  to  make  every 
heart  exclaim,  *  How  dreadful  is  this  place  ;  it  is  none  other  than  the 
house  of  God  ;  it  is  the  gates  of  heaven.'  " 

From  Rev.  Francis  Wayland,  D.  D.  Providence,  R.  I. 
"  It  shall  be  my  prayer  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  be  with  you  as 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost  ;  that  it^m.ay  guide  you  into  all  wisdom  and 
energy  and  holy  labor  for  Christ.  The  objects  which  you  have  sug- 
gested for  discussion  are  of  the  greatest  importance.  I  am  sure  that 
nothing  should  be  allowed  to  prevent  the  Church  of  God  from  using 
the  Press  in  every  manner  and  in  every  place  where  Providence 
opens  the  door.  I  shall  be  glad  to  co-operate  with  the  Society  by 
every  means  in  my  power." 

From  Rev.  Joseph  Hurlbut,  Nexo  London,  Con. 
"I  assure  you  there  is  no  subject  that  interests  me  more  at  pre- 
sent, than  that  of  sending  out  a  phalanx  of  devoted  colporteurs  through- 
out our  Western  and  South-Western  States.  I  hope  the  time  is  not 
far  distant  when  it  will  be  in  my  power  to  give  you  some  evidence  of 
my  interest." 

From  Rev.  Chauncey  A.  Goodrich,  Prof.  Yale  College,  Con. 
"  It  is  my  fervent  prayer  that  a  double  portion  of  that  Spirit  which 
has  in  times  past  prevailed  in  your  Society,  may  rest  on  all  of  its 
members  who  assemble  on  this  occasion.    Wielding  as  you  do,  in  be- 
half of  the  churches,  the  mightiest  engine  of  civilized^  society,  which 


'•N.^ 


LETTERS   RECEIVED'.'"''"  15 

has  shaken  kingdoms,  and  is  d€siined  to  shake  the  whole  earth,  may 
aid  be  given  you  from  on  high  to  turn  ail  its  power  to  the  promoiion 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

"We  have  reached  an  interesting  and  momentous  crisis  in  the  pro- 
gress of  our  great  public  institutions.  One  after  another  has  become 
encumbered  with  debt,  and  crippled  in  its  operations.  It  is  the  impera- 
tive duty  of  the  friends  of  Christ  to  prevent  any  further  recurrence  of 
these  evils  ;  and  I  am  glad  that  your  Board  have  resolved  to  call  up- 
on the  public  to  decide  heforc  hand  what  shall  be  done,  to  decide 
whether  they  will  suffer  the  noble  Institution  to  hesitate  or  falter  in 
the  onward  course  which  Providence  has  so  plainly  marked  out  before 
her.  I  trust  they  will  decide  right,  that  the  proposed  meeting  will 
give  an  impulse  to  the  zeal  and  self-denial  of  ail  who  love  the  cause 
of  Christ,  which  shall  bear  your  Society  forward  with  redoubled 
power,  in  the  widening  sphere  of  action  which  opens  before  it," 

From  Rev.  William  J.  3PCord,  Dutchess  Co.  N.  Yorli. 

"I  have  ever  felt  deeply  interested  in  the  Tract  cause,  for  to  reli- 
gious publications  I  owe,  under  God,  almost  all  that  I  am,  as  a  christian 
and  a  minister.  Every  department  of  your  enterprise  has  my  cordial 
approbation,  and  shall  receive  my  feeble  aid." 

From  Thomas  W.  Blatchford,  M.  D.  Troy,  N.  York. 

"You  do  not  know  how  glad  I  was  when  I  saw  a  few  weeks  since 
that  you  had  determined  to  hold  a  kind  of  holy  convention,  to  consult 
upon  the  great  interests  of  the  Tract  Society. 

"I  had  just  returned  f/om  that  holy  gathering  at  Norwich,  with  my 
heart  bigger  than  my  pocket,  and  a  million  times  fuller,  and  my  de- 
termination fully  set  in  me  never  to  let  anything  short  of '  impossibil- 
ity itself  clearly  expressed,  prevent  my  being  present  at  the  annual 
gatherings  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 

"  It  seems  now  as  though  '  I  should  not  lose  the  relish  all  my  days,' 
and  I  don't  want  to.  I  feel  (as  I  told  my  wife  when  I  returned)  as  if 
I  wanted  to  roll  myself  into  the  Lord's  treasury,  to  be  disposed  of  just 
where  his  commiissioners  should  desire.  So  glorious  seems  this  cause 
of  all  causes — and  the  Tract  Society  is  only  one  of  its  most  important 
members — whether  it  is  the  eye,  or  the  hand,  or  (he  foot,  I  am  not  go- 
ing to  determine,  though  it  looks  like  a  little  of  all.  But  certain  I  am 
that  God  has  so  constituted  all  those  members  of  his  Evangelizing 
machine,  that  the  eye  cannot  say  to  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee 
nor  again  the  head  to  the  foot,  I  have  no  need  of  you  ;  nay,  much  more 
those  members  which  seem  to  be  feeble  are  necessary. 

"  The  moment  I  saw  your  notice  of  the  Meeting,  I  determined  to  be 


\ 


16  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

^ith  you,  God  willing;  but  whether  I  shall  now  be  able,  is  yet  a  mat- 
ter of  somo  uncertainty.  If  I  am  not,  impossibility  itself  will  be 
clearly  expressed;  but  whether  present  or  absent,  I  hope  ever  to  be 
found  like  the  bread  tickets  our  baker  leaves  with  us,  'good  for  one 
Loaf.'" 

From  E.  C.  Delavan,  Esq.  Ballston  Centre;  N.York. 

'?  I  have  always  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  Tract  cause.  The  first 
donation  I  ever  made  of  any  amount,  was  to  assist  in  erecting  the  So- 
ciety's house.  It  required  a  great  effort  at  the  time  to  do  what  little  I 
did,  but  I  have  always  looked  upon  that  effort  as  one  that  has  been 
greatly  blessed  to  me." 

From  Rev.  Tryon  Edwards,  Rochester,  N.  York. 

"  The  call  for  the  proposed  meeting  I  cannot  but  regard  as  one  of 
the  most  important  steps  ever  taken  by  your  Society  ;  and  the  meet- 
ing itself,  I  hope  and  trust,  may  be  but  the  first  of  a  series  which, 
may  annually  bring  together  the  friends  of  the  Tract  cause  to  delibe- 
rate for  its  interests,  and  act  to  extend  its  influence  and  usefulness. 

"  As  I  am  prevented  from  being  with  you,  I  send  the  paper  which 
I  have  prepared,  at  the  request  of  your  Committee,  on  the  relation  of 
your  publications  to  the  pastoral  office." 

From  Hon.  Joseph  C.  Hornbloiocr,  Chief  Justice  of  Ncxo-Jerscy. 

"  I  have  endeavored  so  to  arrange  my  public  duties  as  to  afford  me 
an  opportunity  of  being  present  at  the  meeting,  but  regret  to  find  that 
it  will  not  be  in  my  power.  I  must  be  on  thcj^r'nench.  If  present  with 
you  I  could  contribute  little  beyond  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of 
the  enterprise,  and  these  you  will  have,  though  absent,  accompanied 
with  my  sincere  prayer  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  will  be  pre- 
sent; with  you  by  his  Spirit,  and  conduct  to  such  results  as  shall  be  for 
his  glory  and  the  best  mterests  of  the  world." 

From  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.  D.  Princeton,  N.  Jersey. 

"  I  rejoice  to  find  the  Board  of  your  Society  convinced  that  some- 
thing more  than  usual  ought  to  be  done  to  rouse  the  zeal  and  extend 
the  efforts  of  your  noble  Institution.  Great  and  immensely  important 
as  is  the  good  which  it  has  been  the  means  of  accomplishing  already; 
yet,  when  we  compare  what  it  has  done  with  what  it  might  do,  if  the 
power  of  the  press  were  properly  estimated,  and  if  the  zeal  of  Ameri- 
can christians  were  animated  in  any  thing  like  the  degree  which  it 
ought  to  be, — it  appears  to  me  that  every  pious  heart  must  be  asham- 
ed and  humbled  to  think  how  little  we  are  doing,  and  must  see  the 


LETTERS    RECEIVED.  17 

necessity  and  importance  of  new  and  greatly  enlarged  opcraiions  in 
this  wide  and  daily  increasing  field  of  benevolence. 

^'  h  does  appear  to  me  that  several  departments  of  this  wide  field 
have  been  hitherto  neither  estimated  nor  improved  as  they  ought  to 
be.  The  employment  of  Colporteurs — the  personal  and  general  co- 
operation of  private  christians,  of  both  sexes,  with  the  ministry,  in 
spreading  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  without  in  the  least 
invading  the  functions  of  the  sacred  office — ought  both  to  be,  un- 
doubtedlvj  carried  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  they  have  hitherto 
been  pursued  in  our  country. 

"  Will  the  churches  refuse  or  hesitate  to  sustain  the  Board  in  this 
extension  of  its  labor"?  I  hope  not.  In  my  opinion  pvcry  friend  to  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  our  beloved  country,  as  well  as  to  the  salva- 
tion of  men  ; — every  patriot,  as  well  as  every  chrislian,  ought  to  feel 
himself  called  upon  to  do_^t;e  if  not  ten  times  as  much  as  ever  before 
m  forwarding  this  great  cause.  It  is  the  cause  of  God — of  our  country 
— of  our  children  and  our  children's  children — to  an  extent  that  no  one 
now  can  adequately  estimate. 

"I  can  only  say,  my  dear  sir,  that,  in  my  old  age,  and  near  my  last 
account,  I  stand  ready  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  co-operate  with  your 
Board  in  its  efforts  to  promote  this  precious  cause.  It  would  gratify 
me  unspeakably  to  be  present  with  you — not  with  the  hope  of  adding 
anything  either  to  the  instruction  or  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion  ; 
but  to  testify  my  humjjle  zeal  in  favor  of  the  hallowed  work  in  which 
you  are  engaged,  and  to  contribute  my  mite  of  influence  towards  the 
encouragement  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  it. 

"May  the  blessing  of  the  King  of  Zion  rest  upon  your  meeting, 
and  make  it  productive  of  rich  and  glorious  results  I  Cordially  yours 
in  the  Lord." 

From  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Jo7ies,  Philadelphia. 

"I  could  not  expect  by  my  presence  to  add  '  in  conference '  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  enlightened  and  devout  body  of  clerical  and  lay  breth- 
ren whom  such  an  occasion  will  undoubtedly  draw  together.  Had  it 
been  practicable  for  me  to  attend,  however,  I  should  have  found  their 
deliberations  greatly  serviceable  to  myself.  I  shall  look,  in  common 
with  thousands  who  are  not  permitted  to  be  there,  with  lively  interest 
to  the  result.  And  though  my  influence  is  but  limited,  and  my  zeal 
and  love  in  the  cause  of  our  divine  and  glorious  Redeemer  too  often 
lamentably  small,  yet  I  need  not  say  that  any  subordinate  service 
which  I  can  render  in  promoting  it,  by  the  help  of  God,  it  will  give 
mo  much  pleasure  to  undertake." 


18  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

From  Rev.  William  Suddards,  Philadelphia. 

To  Rev.  Dr.  Milnor, — "  Your  kind  letter  covering  an  invitation 
to  the  hospitalities  of  your  house  and  the  interesting  meeting  at  the 
Tabernacle  is  duly  received  ;  but  my  duties  and  the  state  of  my  health 
forbid  my  engaging  at  present  in  those  delightful  combinations  of  good 
men  for  great  and  good  purposes,  as  in  former  years  I  was  wont  to  do. 
They  have  my  warmest  regards,  and  I  only  regret  that  I  cannot  ren- 
der a  support  in  some  sort  commensurate  with  my  attachment.  I  am 
glad  to  find  you  at  your  post.  We  hope  to  have  the  ray  of  your  ex- 
ample unbroken  in  this  matter.  It  will  speak  to  many  who  shall  sur- 
vive you,  in  tones  from  the  sepulchre,  and  men  may  rush  to  bear  the 
fallen  standard,  who  stood  far  av.-ay  before  you  fell." 

From  Rev.  Joel  Parker,  D.  D.  Philadelphia. 
"  Somebody  has  said  that  *  what  ought  to  be  done  can  be  done.'  I 
suppose  the  remark,  like  most  of  our  sententious  sayings,  is  to  be 
taken  with  some  limitations  ;  but  it  does  appear  to  me  that  the  cause 
of  the  American  Tract  Society  ought  to  receive  a  fresh  impulse,  and 
that  the  amount  of  good  which  it  has  already  achieved,  and  the  in- 
creased facilities  which  it  now  possesses  for  doing  good  must  and  will 
call  forth  the  resources  of  the  friends  of  Christ.  Shall  such  a  power 
to  bless  our  country  in  this  interesting  forming  period  of  its  history, 
lie  dormant  in  the  stereotype-plates  of  the  Tract  Society,  when  a  few 
thousand  dollars,  rightly  applied,  would  send  spiritual  light  and  salva- 
tion to  every  destitute  settlement,  and  almost  every  cabin  in  North 
America?  Shall  the  cry  of  the  heathen  be  heard,  redoubled  as  it  is, 
without  any  corresponding  redoubling  of  our  exertions." 

Fro7n  Rev.  William  S.  Plumer,  D.  D.  Richnotid^  Va. 

"  I  fully  concur  in  the  importance  of  increased  zeal  in  the  Society's 
work.  Infidelity  has  retreated  from  high  places,  and  has  gone  into 
dark  corners.  I  have  lately  travelled  from  this  place  to  Christians- 
burg,  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  I  went 
via  Charlottesville,  Waynesboro,  Staunton,  Lexington,  Fincastle, 
Big  Lick  and  Salem.  In  nearly  all  that  country  there  is  at  this  time  a 
loud  call  for  the  Society's  publications.  I  am  much  pleased  with  your 
recent  publications  and  doings. 

"  P.  S.  There  is  great  need  of  a  Tract  containing  a  sumvxary  of 
the  evidences  of  Christianity." 

On  Tuesday  evening.,  at  7,  a  sermon  was  preached  by 
the  Rev.  James  Roheyn,  of  Catskill,  N.  Y.  from  Acts,  26  :  22, 
23,  "Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue  unto 


HARMONY   OF    THE   SOCIETY.  19 

this  day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great,  saying  none  other 
things  than  those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say 
should  come;  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  that  he  should  be 
the  first  that  should  rise  from  the  dead,  and  should  show  light 
unto  the  people  and  to  the  Gentiles."  A  copy  of  this  able,  ap- 
propriate and  highly  evangelical  discourse,  was.  on  motion  of 
Rev.  Baron  Stow,  requested  for  the  press,  and  the  Committee 
are  happy  to  present  it  to  the  reader  at  the  close  of  this  vo- 
lume. Prayers  were  offered  by  Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  D.  D. 
and  Rev.  R.  K.  Rodgers. 

Wednesday,  10  A.M.  Prayer  by  Rev.  N.  Murray.  The  Rev, 
Dr.  Milnor,  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  presented  to  the 
meeting  the  follo^ying  Document 


DOCUMENT  I. 

.,    Tho  Harmony  of  the  Society's  Proceedings^ 

"  Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell 
together  in  unity. ^' 

Among  the  many  interesting  topics  deserving  of  notice 
on  this  extraordinary  assemblage  of  friends  of  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society,  may  be  eminently  ranked  that  of  the 
very  remarkable  harmony  of  feeling  and  action  by  which 
its  past  history  has  been  distinguished.  It  would  be  un- 
grateful to  that  Divine  Being  whose  direction  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  its  affairs  has  been  so  constantly  sought  by 
its  conductors,  not  to  recognize,  thankfully  and  devoutly, 
his  special  providence,  and  the  benignant  guidance  of  his 
Holy  Spirit  in  all  the  way  in  which  he  has  hitherto 
brought  us. 


20  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

The  Institution  had  its  basis  in  the  principle  of  brother- 
ly love.  It  was  deemed  possible  for  the  disciples  of  a 
common  Savior,  honestly  divided  from  each  other  on 
some  points  of  doctrine,  discipline  and  worship,  and  sepa- 
rated into  different  communities,  cordially  to  unite  in  the 
dissemination  of  those  great  truths  of  their  religion  in 
which  they  harmoniously  concur,  and  which  are  indisso- 
lubly  connected  with  the  eternal  well-being  of  the  souL 
It  was  not  entirely  a  new  experiment.  Several  small 
associations  had  been  productive  of  much  good.  In  Great 
Britain  a  similar  effort,  on  a  large  scale,  had  been  attend- 
ed with  an  astonishing  measure  of  success  ;  and  it  may 
be  added,  the  great  Society  by  which  it  has  been  prose- 
cuted still  maintains  its  harmony,  and  continues  to  bless 
that  country  and  the  world,  through  its  numerous  publi- 
cations, wfth  invaluable  treasures  of  spiritual  knowledge 
and  practical  instruction.  Tract  Societies,  both  here  and 
there,  owe  much  of  their  prosperity,  under  the  Divine 
favor,  to  those  well-considered  principles  of  action  which 
were  adopted  at  the  outset  of  these  undertakings  as  the 
basis  of  christian  union. 

With  whatever  delight  the  christian  mind  may  contem- 
plate the  happy  period,  how  distant  none  can  tell  but  He 
Avho  "  knows  the  end  from  the  beginning,"  when  on  all 
points  the  followers  of  Christ  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  be 
"  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind,  and  in  the 
same  judgment,"  and  all  unite  under  one  congenial  ban- 
ner, it  was  apparent  to  every  considerate  mind  that  there 
were  existing  differences  of  opinion  and  practice  among 
Evangelical  christians,  that  in  such  a  combination  must  be 
left  untouched.  It  was  to  be  ascertained  in  what  doctrines 
of  faith  all  of  this  character  were  agreed,  and  an  honest 
understanding  was  to  be  had  that  to  such  their  united  en- 
deavors were  to  be  implicitly  confined.  Happily,  little 
difficulty  occurred  in  settling  these.  "  Man's  nativ-e  sin- 
fulness ;  the  purity  and  obligation  of  the  law  of  God;  the 


HARMONY   OF   THE   SOCIETY.  21 

true  and  proper  Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  the 
necessity  and  reality  of  his  atonement  and  sacrifice ;  the 
efficiency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  work  of  renovation  ; 
the  free  and  full  offers  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  duty  of  men 
to  accept  it ;   the  necessity  of  personal  holiness,  and  a 

state  of  rewards  and  punishments  beyond  the  grave," 

doctrines  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  evangelical  christians, 
were  the  declared  basis  of  our  union.  They  were  adopted 
with  much  deliberation  and  fervent  prayer,  and  they  have 
continued  to  form  the  inspiring  topics  of  more  than  a 
thousand  different  publications,  including  upwards  of  one 
hundred  bound  volumes,  which  it  has  been  our  privilege 
to  issue.  By  a  faithful  adherence  to  these  original  terms 
of  association,  has  harmony  been  uninterruptedly  pre- 
served for  the  seventeen  years  and  more  through  which 
the  labors  of  this  Institution  have  been  so  happily  con- 
ducted. 

During  this  period  no  Tract  or  book  has  been  issued 
but  with  the  unanimous  approval  of  all  the  members  of 
the  Publishing  Committee,  consisting  of  a  representative 
from  each  of  six  evangelical  denominations  of  christians. 
To  whatever  extent  any  denomination  may  have  thought 
it  a  duty  to  spread  abroad  a  knowledge  of  its  own  peculi- 
arities, this  has  been  its  own  separate  and  exclusive 
work;  we  have  scrupulously  adhered  to  the  principles 
on  which  our  union  is  based,  and  on  which  its  continu- 
ance depends. 

One  great  object,  however,  it  is  believed,  has  been  ef- 
fected by  this  exhibition  of  harmonious  action.  Multitudes 
have  become  disposed  to  look  more  at  the  great  princi- 
ples of  their  blessed  religion,  in  which  they  are  all  able  ^h 
conscientiously  to  concur,  and  less  on  those  in  which  they           'tB 
unhappily  differ.     The  discovery  has  been  satisfactorily  | 
made  of  the  inferiority  in  number  and  m.agnitude  of  the 
latter,  compared  with  the  former.    The  beneficial  exam- 
ple of  its  Divine  Author  has  become  more  an  object  of 

3 


S2  -#  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

assiduous  imitation.  Where  discussion  has  been  had  on 
subjects  which  are  still  in  dispute  among  christians,  legs 
of  asperity  has  been  seen  in  the  pages  of  controversy,  and 
the  failure  to  convince  an  adversary,  has  not  often  been 
followed  by  the  language  of  bitterness  and  denunciation. 
It  has  been  seen  by  Protestant  churches,  that  just  in  pro- 
portion as  they  present  a  united  front  to  the  assaults  of 
infidelity  and  error,  and  the  machinations  of  the  Man  of 
Sin,  will  the  citadel  of  their  hopes  stand  firm  and  unin- 
jured. Just  as  they  spend  their  strength  in  mutual  con- 
tention, will  their  common  enemies  gain  advantage  over 
them.  It  was  a  happy  step  towards  that  union,  over  the 
continued  subsistence  and  increase  of  which  the  present 
occasion  calls  upon  us  so  gratefully  to  rejoice,  when  that 
grand  association,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
originated,  whose  labors  have  given  to  the  world  more 
than  fourteen  million  copies  of  the  volume  of  inspiration, 
and  multiplied  the  means  of  conveying  its  blessed  truths 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  by  translations  into  more  than 
150  of  the  languages  into  which  they  are  divided. 
*«  The  establishment  of  Tract  Societies  by  christians  of 
different  denominations,  was  a  further  advance  in  the 
way  to  that  blessed  consummation,  when  all  discord  shall 
cease;  when  the  principles,  and  objects,  and  modes  of 
action  among  christians  shall  universally  coalesce  ; 
when  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel  shall  unite 
their  hearts  in  christian  love ;  when  God  shall  be  adored 
as  the  universal  Father ;  the  world  become  one  vast 
family  of  brethren,  united  to  Him  and  one  another  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  regenerated  by  his  Spirit,  and  pre- 
pared to  cast  their  crowns  before  the  same  Lord,  and 
rend  the  concave  of  beaven  with  one  harmonious  shout 
of  praise. 

In  the  retrospect  of  the  past  doings  of  this  Institution 
and  their  results,  they  who  have  been  most  intimately 
connected  with  its  transactions  have  reason,  with  a  deep 


HARMONY   OF    THE   SOCIETY.  23 

sense  of  the  imperfections  of  their  own  agency  therein,  to 
exult  in  multiplied  evident  manifestations  of  divine  favor 
towards  it.  Especially  do  they  rejoice  in  the  delightful 
fact  to  which  these  remarks  are  intended  to  have  a  spe- 
cial reference — the  preservation,  thus  far,  of  perfect  uni- 
ty and  concord  among  its  officers  and  members,  and  the 
confirmation  which  this  affords  of  every  glowing  antici- 
pation of  its  friends  being  realized  in  its  future  progress. 
For  the  promotion  of  this  end  let  us  improve  our  pre- 
sent assemblage.  For  this  let  our  united  prayers  ascend 
to  heaven,  and  our  best  endeavors  be  exerted.  A  dutiful 
spirit  should  delight  to  recur  to  the  precepts,  and  a  living 
faith  to  lay  hold  of  the  promises  of  God.  Where  is  one  to 
be  found  among  the  former  which  gives  countenance  to 
disunion  and  discord?  Where  is  there  one  among  the 
latter  that  assures  any  recompense  of  blessing  to  a  con- 
tentious and  litigious  spirit  ?  The  religion  of  Jesus  is  a 
religion  of  love.  It  was  this  hallowed  principle  in  which 
the  Gospel  originated,  and  its  too  partial  prevalence  has 
been  the  chief  obstacle  to  its  predicted  universal  sway. 
Its  final  success  can  never  obtain,  until  the  same  mind  is 
possessed  by  his  people  that  was  in  Christ  their  illustri- 
ous Head,  and  their  combined  and  unembarrassed  efforts 
are  united  for  his  glory  and  the  salvation  of  mankind.  A 
wide  field  lies  open  before  us.  Millions  of  heathen  im- 
plore, in  their  destitution,  the  exercise  of  our  benevolence 
towards  them.  Other  millions  of  nominal  christians,  if  in 
their  blindness  they  ask  not,  we  know  need  our  interpo- 
sition to  pour  into  their  minds  the  light  of  heavenly  truth, 
and  recall  them  to  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  Still 
many  a  waste  place  of  our  own  land  reproaches  the  nar- 
rowness and  lassitude  of  our  exertions,  while  grateful 
multitudes,  in  regions  which  our  efforts  have  availably 
reached,  bless  God  for  that  concentrated  union  of  action 
which  has  sent  them  our  publications  to  light  them  on 
their  way  to  heaven.   Experience  has  proved  that  our 


24  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING, 

plan  of  union  in  this  work  of  benevolence  is  not  visionary 
or  Utopian.  It  contemplates  no  improper  interference 
with  any  of  the  departments  into  which  the  family  of 
Christ  is  divided. 

Let  no  means  employed  by  individual  churches  for  the 
glory  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  salvation  of  those  for  whom 
Christ  has  died,  be  disregarded  or  esteemed  of  light  im- 
portance. Let  the  living  ministry  be  respected  as  a  most 
honored  Institution,  a  divine  appointment,  having  the 
promise  of  the  Church's  Head  to  the  end  of  time.  Let 
each  distinct  branch  of  the  vast  household  of  faith  em- 
ploy the  means  entrusted  to  it  by  a  gracious  Providence, 
to  promote  the  great  ends  contemplated  by  divine  mercy 
and  goodness  to  our  fallen  race.  But  let  the  broader  princi- 
ple of  united  action,  so  sanctioned  of  God,  so  blessed  in 
its  past  results,  so  in  accordance  with  the  long  cherished 
expectation  of  christian  faith  and  the  opening  prospects 
of  millennial  glory,  never  be  abandoned.  O,  it  would 
grieve  the  soul  of  charity,  and  throw  a  gloom  over  the 
brightening  prospects  of  futurity,  were  the  sacred  union 
of  christians  thus  happily  begun,  and  thus  successfully 
pursued,  to  be  dissolved,  or  in  any  measure  lessened  or 
impaired.  But  it  may  not  be.  The  sacred  bond  must  not 
be  broken.  Withered  be  the  hand  that  would  attempt  its 
severance.  Whilst  any  portion  of  six  hundred  millions 
of  unenlightened  heathen  remain  to  be  brought  into  sub- 
mission to  the  Prince  of  Peace ;  while  darkness  broods 
over  the  superstitious  churches  of  the  East;  while  Papal 
Rome  is  seeking  to  extend  her  despotic  sway  over  the 
minds  of  men ;  and  while  multitudes,  not  utterly  beyond 
the  influence  of  Gospel  light  and  truth,  are  seen  crowding 
the  broad  road  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  let  christian 
union  be  made  the  means  of  counteracting  these  mighty 
ervils.  We  ask  objectors  to  a  plan  so  consonant  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel,  what  would  have  been  the  number 
of  Bibles  circulated  within  the  last  thirty  eight  years,  if 


HARMONY   OF   THE    SOCIETY.  25 

sectarian  jealousy  and  rivalsliip  had  been  successful  in 
preventing  the  establishment  of  that  magnificent  monu- 
ment of  religious  enterprise,  with  the  thousands  of  its 
progeny,  of  the  vast  extent  of  whose  most  laudable  exer- 
tions we  have  already  spoken  ;  and  how  many  precious 
souls  would  have  gone  unblessed  to  their  great  account, 
had  not  the  great  Tract  Association  of  Great  Britain, 
with  our  own  and  other  kindred  unions,  disseminated 
through  innumerable  channels  the  words  of  life  and  sal- 
vation in  the  little  pamphlet  or  the  more  enlarged  volume. 
When  we  look  at  the  details  of  spiritual  good  effected, 
by  this  joint  co-operation  which  stand  authenticated  and 
recorded  in  the  annals  of  our  Tract  Society  alone,  and 
form  the  most  moderate  conjecture  of  cases  which  have 
never  met  the  public  eye,  we  are  compelled  to  exclaim, 
*•  What  hath  God  wrought !"  And  when  we  are  mourn- 
ing over  the  remaining  bitterness  of  party  spirit  in  the 
Church  or  in  the  world,  and  are  filled  with  grief  that 
union  is  not  the  watchword  with  all  that  love  their  Sa- 
vior and  their  fellow-men,  and  while  we  also  join  in  the 
lamentations  of  our  associates,  that  the  means  of  such  ex- 
tensive good  as  lies  before  us  are,  by  so  many  who  profess 
highly  to  appreciate  our  object,  injuriously  withheld ;  we 
may  perceive,  amidst  all  our  discouragements,  sources  of 
pious  gratulation  for  the  past,  and  of  inspiring  hope  for 
the  future,  that  should  silence  our  complaints,  and  lead  us 
to  trust  in  God  for  an  issue  to  our  labors  for  which  we 
shall  have  reason  to  praise  Him  through  eternal  ages. 

This  Document  was  referred  to  Rev.  Dr.  Magie,  Rev.  Baron 
Stow,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Adam?,  who  subsequently  presented  the 
following  Report,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Meeting,  and 
with  the  Document  was  referred  to  the  Executive  Committee 
for  publication :  viz. 


26  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

REPORT. 

We  regard  the  doings  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  as  set  forth 
in  this  paper,  with  very  deep  interest.  By  these  doings  the  fact  is  es- 
tablished that  good  men  may  so  coalesce  on  all  substantial  points  of 
christian  faith  and  practice,  as  to  labor  faithfully  and  successfully  to- 
gether, without  giving  up  any  of  their  own  peculiar  views.  The  various 
branches  of  the  Church  are  thus  taught  to  forget  the  minimum  of  their 
differences  in  the  deep  conviction  they  feel  of  the  value  of  the  max- 
imum of  their  agreement.  This  Society  cannot  have  operated  for  sevent- 
een years,  in  this  harmonious  way,  without  producing  results  of  the  hap- 
piest kind.  It  is  cheering  to  the  heart  of  pious  benevolence  to  see  that 
brethren,  who  are  called  by  different  names,  and  who  worship  under 
somewhat  different  forms,  can  nevertheless  thus  dwell  together  in  unity. 

Your  Committee  feel  that  christians  every  where  will  be  encou- 
raged by  the  lovely  example  of  this  Society's  operations.  There  is 
something  in  this  fact  which  looks  like  a  pledge  and  a  prelude  of  that 
day  when  the  watchmen  shall  all  see  eye  to  eye,  and  when  Ephraim 
shall  no  longer  envy  Judah,  nor  Judah  vex  Ephraim.  We  cannot  but 
hope,  therefore,  that  the  American  Tract  Society  will  go  on  with  its 
noble  work  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  the  Society  had  its  origin. 
This  blessed  work  was  founded  in  christian  confidence,  and  it  is  only 
by  a  maintenance  of  the  same  spirit  that  it  can  expect  to  meet  its  full 
measure  of  reward. 

Rev.  Mr.  M'CLURE,  of  Maiden,  Mass.  in  moving  the  adoption  of 
this  Report,  said  that  the  Document  and  the  Report  had  struck  a  key- 
note which  he  did  not  doubt  would  vibrate  in  unison  in  every  heart. 
It  was  pleasant  to  see  christians  of  every  name  and  sentiment  co-ope- 
rating in  such  a  work  as  this,  and  he  had  been  reminded,  while  listen- 
ing to  the  Report,  of  one  of  the  earliest  efforts  made  in  this  cause. 
Forty  years  ago,  a  lady  in  Boston,  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church,  became  interested  in  some  of  the  Tracts  written  by  Hannah 
More,  and  called  on  a  bookseller,  a  deacon  in  the  Baptist  church,  to 
publish  them.  He  said  that  if  she  would  raise  the  money  to  buy  the 
paper,  he  would  print  them  at  his  own  risk.  She  did  so,  and  the  Tracts 
were  published  and  circulated.  Here  was  a  daughter  of  the  Puritans 
co-operating  with  a  member  of  the  Baptist  communion  in  spreading 
the  writings  of  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  operations  of  this  Society  seem  to  be  calculated  to  raise  up  a 
race  of  broad-chested  christians,  men  of  big  hearts,  capable  of  sympa- 
thizing with  all  that  love  the  Redeemer,  with  the  144,000,  the  repre- 


HARMONY   OF   THE   SOCIETY.  27 

sentatives  of  the  entire  Church  of  God.  We  desire  to  see  more  exten- 
sive christian  union  than  now  prevails,  and  not  merely  external  union 
that  may  be  effected  by  one  denomination  becoming  so  strong  as  to 
swallow  up  others  ;  but  union  that  is  produced  by  bringing  all  nearer 
to  the  common  centre.  This  is  the  only  union  that  is  of  value  in  the 
sight  of  heaven. 

Mr.  M.  quoted  the  remark  of  Leighton,  that  we  ought  to  inquire  if 
the  points  in  which  we  agree  are  not  m.ore  numerous  and  important 
than  those  in  which  we  differ  ;  and  that  of  Melancthon,  In  essentials, 
unity  ;  in  non-essentials,  liberty  ;  in  all  things,  charity. 

With  this  "bond  of  perfectness,"  we  are  in  no  danger  of  any  com- 
promises, whereby  the  truth  shall  suffer.  There  flows  in  these  veins  the 
blood  of  the  Covenanters  ;  it  is  capable  of  being  warmed  by  the  fire 
of  the  Puritans,  or  any  warmth  imparted  by  christian  love.  I  love  the 
Church  of  my  fathers — but  that  implies  no  reproach  or  indifference  to 
others.  For  a  man  to  say  he  loves  his  own  mother — the  being  who 
kindly  watched  his  infancy,  blessed  his  hours  of  sickness,  and  has 
loved  him  more  than  any  other  being,  is  that  a  reason  for  another  to 
take  offence  1  Must  there  be  no  preferences  in  order  to  be  union  1  Do 
I  love  my  neighbor  less,  because  I  love  my  family  more  1 

The  way  to  unite  the  Church  is  to  propose  to  her  various  branches 
one  glorious  commanding  object.  It  is  not  to  be  done  by  the  sacrifice 
of  cherished  preferences  and  prepossessions.  But  when  all  are  press- 
ing toward  the  same  mark,  however  each  may  be  platooned  into  dif- 
ferent sections,  or  marshalled  under  different  leaders,  the  Church  will 
present  one  solid  phalanx  to  the  enemy — the  more  effective,  perhaps, 
in  her  efforts,  and  more  certain  of  success,  for  the  order  and  discipline 
of  their  separate  organization. 

Letter  from  Rev.  Daniel  Sharp,  D.  D.  Boston,  Mass. 

*'  I  cherished  the  hope  for  a  few  days  that  I  should  be  able  to  be 
with  you  at  the  expected  Meeting  ;  but  circumstances  have  occurred 
which  will  not  allow  me  then  to  visit  New-York.  I  shall,  however,  be 
with  you  in  spirit.  I  have  entire  sympathy  in  the  enlarged  and  catho- 
lic objects  and  efforts  of  the  Society  ;  and  undiminished  confidence  in 
the  impartiality  and  sound  views  ef  the  Executive  Committee.  I 
should  have  been  highly  gratified  to  be  present.  May  the  Father  of 
lights  guide  all  your  deliberations  and  control  all  your  decisions." 

The  following  Document,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the 
Committee,  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edwards,  approved,  and 
referred  for  publication. 


28  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


DOCUMENT    II. 

Providential  History  of  the  Society. 

The  Society's  operations  were  commenced  by  issuing  a 
series  of  Tracts  and  Children's  Tracts  ;  but  attention  had 
already  been  directed  both  to  the  issuing  of  volumes  like 
those  of  Baxter  and  Doddridge,  and  to  operations  in 
foreign  lands.  The  question  occurred  whether  its  title 
should  not  be  the  American  Tract  and  Book  Society,  or 
the  American  and  Foreign  Tract  Society ;  but  the  In- 
stitution, formed  in  London  in  1799,  had  simply  the 
title  "  Religious  Tract  Society ;"  the  term  Tract  [Latin 
tractum,  a  treatise,  or  thread  of  discourse  drawn  out] 
was  equally  applicable  to  a  larger  or  smaller  publication ; 
and  it  was  conceived  that  the  term  American  might  im- 
ply exertion  wherever  American  benevolence  should  reach. 
The  same  views  governed  the  Board  in  applying  in  1841 
for  the  Act  of  Incorporation. 

The  Society's  first  Report  recognizes  the  imperious 
claims  oi pagan  lands,  and  the  second  contains  the  princi- 
ples on  which  foreign  pecuniary  grants  should  be  applied. 
Those  principles  were  drawn  up  and  presented  to  the  So- 
ciety by  one  of  its  earliest  and  most  steadfast  friends,  the 
lamented  Jeremiah  Evartb,  Esq.  then  Secretary  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
— nor  is  it  now  known  how  far  his  wide-reaching  mind 
then  anticipated  the  thousand  ramifications  of  influence 
in  favor  of  foreign  missions,  which  should  grow  out  of  the 
active  inlistment  of  Tract  and  Bible  Institutions  as  auxiliary 
to  that  magnificent  enterprise.  Appeals  from  some  foreign 
stations  had  already  been  received,  and  in  the  two  follow- 
ing years  the  Society's  first  foreign  pecuniary  grants  were 
made  to  the  missions  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  in 
Malta  and  Ceylon,  the  mission  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    SOCIETY.  '  29 

pal  Church  in  Greece,  and  the  mission  of  the  American 
Baptist  Board  in  Burmah.  These  grants  have  increased 
to  the  average  of  about  $25,000  annually  for  the  last  se- 
ven years. 

In  the  Society's  third  year  it  entered  on  the  volume  cir- 
culation, by  stereotyping  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress, 
which  was  perpetuated  by  the  donation  of  $800  from  the 
lamented  Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  Col.  Varick,  Col. 
Rutgers  and  Nicholas  Brown,  Esq. ;  and  was  ere  long 
followed  by  issuing  the  Saints'  Rest,  Call  to  the  Uncon- 
verted, Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  kindred  works.  The 
fathers  in  the  churches  cheered  the  Society  in  the  enter- 
prise. In  the  Society's  eighth  year  an  active  friend  at  the 
South  instituted  an  extensive  correspondence  respecting  it, 
and  presented  its  claimiS  at  the  ensuing  Anniversary,  when 
it  was  Resolved  to  attempt  to  reach  every  accessible  family 
in  the  Southern  Atlantic  States  with  one  or  more  volumes, 
a  design  which,  one  year  after,  was  extended  to  embrace  all 
our  Territories.  Individuals  were  also  raised  up  to  give  the 
enterprise  their  undivided  energies,  both  at  the  East  and 
West,  and  seek  to  supply  families  not  only  with  a  volume, 
but  with  the  "  Evangelical  Family  Library;"  the  number 
of  volumes  has  increased  to  nearly  one  hundred ;  and  by- 
all  the  efforts  made,  with  the  co-operation  of  pastors  and 
christians  generally,  about  2,000,000  copies  have  been 
circulated. 

In  the  Society's  fourth  year  attention  was  drawn  to  sys- 
tematic Tract  distribution.  A  deep  interest  had  been 
awakened  in  behalf  of  the  destitute  of  our  country,  espe- 
cially in  the  Western  States,  and  a  Meeting  of  gentlemen 
convened  to  raise  funds,  when  one  of  them,  previous  to 
subscribing  $1000,  said  he  wished  to  give  at  least  two 
Tracts  to  every  family  at  the  West;  and  as  the  effort  to 
obtain  means  was  prosecuted  by  the  Secretary,  the  question 
occurred,  Why  not  supply  the  accessible  population  at  the 
East  as  well  as  the  West  ?    The  work  was  soon  entered 

3=* 


30  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

upon  by  the  New- York  City  Tract  Society,  and  in  various 
places  throughout  the  countr3^ 

After  two  years  the  attention  of  some  of  the  laborers,  and 
especially  the  late  Harlan  Page,  was  called  to  the  neces- 
sity of  connecting  with  the  distribution  faithful  personal 
effort  for  the  souls  of  meUy  which  greatly  increased  the  in- 
terest and  efficiency  of  these  endeavors,  and  they  were 
prosecuted  to  some  extent  in  most  of  our  principal  towns 
and  villages,  and  in  very  numerous  congregations.  The 
Society's  energies  were  directed  to  the  extension  of  these 
means  of  grace  throughout  the  country  generally,  and  in 
its  ninth  year  it  employed  tweiity-three  years  of  agency, 
partly  for  the  raising  of  funds,  but  chiefly  to  excite  the  peo- 
fie  of  God  to  fidelity  to  the  population  around  them.  The 
Societies  in  New-York  City,  Philadelphia,  and  some 
other  important  cities,  towns  and  villages,  have  persevered ; 
the  former  having  now  1000  visiters,  and  reported  the  last 
year,  234  hopeful  conversions,  besides  abundant  incidental 
good.  But  it  is  deeply  to  be  lamented  that,  from  various 
causes,  this  Society's  attention  was  gradually  diverted  from 
these  efforts  for  the  destitute  of  our  country,  till  it  lost  the 
vantage-ground  it  had  gained;  and  the  loss  to  perishing 
thousands  is  known  only  to  the  Omniscient  mind. 

If  any  thing  can  reconcile  us  to  this  loss,  it  is  perhaps 
the  fact  that  God  has  now  directed  the  Society  to  kindred 
efforts  for  our  destitute  population,  which  promise  in  many 
respects  still  higher  good.  The  prosecution  of  the  volume 
circulation  has  shown  that  it  also  affords  the  fairest  oppor- 
tunities to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  men,  as  it  has  also 
brought  more  distinctly  to  view  the  boundless  moral  wants 
of  ©ur  country.  In  May,  1841,  the  Agent  for  superintend- 
ing the  volume  circulation  at  the  West,  spread  before  the 
Committee  the  immense  population  which  his  endeavors 
had  not  reached.  The  tear  of  compassion  was  already  fall- 
ing over  neglected  millions  within  our  own  borders.  At- 
tention had  been  awakened  to  the  success  of  colporteurs, 


HISTORY   OF   THE    SOCIETY.  31 

plain  humble  men  in  France  and  adjacent  countries ;  and 
the  Society  resolved  to  seek  out  men  of  kindred  spirit  who 
would  labor  at  small  expense,  to  visit  county  by  county, 
and  with  the  christian  co-operation  that  may  be  obtained, 
supply  every  accessible  family  with  one  or  more  books, 
by  sale  or  gift,  accompanied  with  all  proper  endeavors  for 
their  eternal  good.  A  blessing  has  thus  far  evidently  at- 
tended this  system,  and,  so  far  as  known,  it  has  the  cor- 
dial co-operation  of  the  people  of  God.  Nearly  20  of  these 
Volume  Agents  for  the  destitute  are  now  under  commis- 
sion, 15  of  them  for  the  Western  States,  and  three  for  the 
Germans,  whose  language  they  speak. 

Thus  has  God  in  his  providence  opened  doors  of  useful- 
ness before  the  Society,  which  at  his  bidding  they  have 
humbly  endeavored  to  enter.  In  each  department  they 
have  discerned  a  work  which  the  churches  must  evidently 
pursue,  and  in  each  the  encouragements  to  labor  continu- 
ally brighten.  Who  will  not  pray  that  God  will  make  the 
Officers  of  the  Society,  its  Managers,  its  Committee,  its 
Agents,  its  supporters  and  friends,  faithful  to  the  trust,  and 
bless  these  and  other  instrumentalities  in  subduing  the  na- 
tions to  himself. 

As  Dr.  Edwards  proceeded  with  the  reading  of  the  above  Docu- 
ment he  added  remarks  on  various  topics  presented  ;  adverting  to  the 
early  history  of  the  New  England  (now  American)  Tract  Society, 
formed  at  Andover  in  1814,  twenty-eight  years  since.  It  began  with 
obtaining  subscriptions  of  $20  or  more,  to  be  applied  to  printing  Tracts 
designated  by  the  respective  donors,  one  half  of  the  edition  to  be  re- 
ceived by  the  donor  for  gratuitous  distribution,  and  the  remaining  half 
to  be  sold  at  cost,  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  reprinting  the  same 
number  of  copies,  and  thus  the  Tract  to  be  perpetuated.  From  such 
beginnings  grew  the  present  Institution.  He  believed  it  originated 
from  the  Fountain  of  all  good,  and  if  its  labors  were  prosecuted  in  de- 
pendence on  him,  it  could  never  fail.  The  stream  will  rise  as  high  as 
its  source ;  as  he  had  just  been  reminded  by  the  beautiful  fountain 
from  the  Croton,  that  plays  in  front  of  the  City  Hall.  Let  all  have 
the  spirit  of  Him  who,  though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor, 
and  we  shall  seek  out  the  destitute  at  home  and  abroad ;  and  we 


32  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

shall  approach  all,  even  the  deluded  Catholic  and  errorist,  with  such 
love  in  our  hearts  that  we  shall  not  be  repulsed.  When  we  circulate 
Baxter's  works  it  will  be  with  Baxter's  spirit,  calling  on  God  for  a 
blessing.  The  two  million  Volumes  issued  by  the  Society,  if  thus  cir- 
culated, and  accompanied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  would  seem  to  contain 
truth  enough  for  the  conversion  of  "  a  nation  in  a  day." 

In  the  work  of  foreign  distribution,  this  Society  and  the  Mission- 
ary Boards  were  not  different  firms,  but  joint  partners,  all  seeking,  like 
the  great  Apostle,  by  toil  and  sacrifice,  to  "  fill  up  that  which  is  be- 
hind "  of  the  afflictions  of  Him,  who  made  the  one  great  propitiation 
for  sin. 

In  reference  to  Harlan  Page,  he  well  recollected  when  the  Secre- 
tary came  to  him  in  1823  or  4,  and  said  we  wanted  engravings  on  the 
Tracts,  and  there  was  an  ingenious  mechanic  in  Connecticut,  a  pious 
devoted  man,  who  could  make  them.  In  this  way  Providence  had 
brought  into  connection  with  this  Society  that  man  of  God,  whose  ex- 
ample had  done  so  much  to  awaken  the  churches  to  fidelity  to  the 
souls  of  men. 

Letter  from  Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  D.  D.  Tlieol.  Scm.  Andover,  Ms. 

"It  gives  me  pain  to  think  that  I  cannot  be  with  you,  and  by  my 
personal  presence  show  what  interest  I  feel  in  the  object  of  the  Meet- 
ing. The  Tract  Society  has  always  been  dear  to  my  heart  ;  and  the 
importance  of  its  labors  has  been  increasing,  in  my  view,  from  year  to 
year.  I  have  been  uniformly  satisfied,  and  more  than  satisfied,  with 
the  arrangements  by  which  the  principal  operations  of  the  Society 
were  removed  from  Boston  to  New-York.  And  I  would  not  cease  to 
bless  God  that  he  has  been  pleased  in  so  high  a  degree  to  prosper 
the  Society.  I  cannot  think  of  what  has  been  accomplished  without 
astonishment.  How  small  was  our  beginning!  How  rapid  the  growth 
of  the  Society  !  And  how  wide  its  salutary  influence  !  When,  at  the 
outset,  I  went  here  and  there  to  induce  men  to  contribute  to  this  ob- 
ject, my  heart  would  have  been  filled  with  joy  could  I  have  known 
that  a  tenth  part  of  the  good  which  has  been  done  would  ever  have 
been  accomplished. 

"The  present  depression  of  the  Tract  cause,  I  have  thought,  should 
not  discourage  us.  It  is  nothing  strange,  if  the  zeal  which  has  been 
kindled  in  favor  of  Foreign  Missions,  has  at  the  same  time  turned  off 
the  public  mind,  in  some  measure,  from  this  and  other  benevolent  ob- 
jects. But  I  trust  the  depression  is  only  for  a  time.  When  it  comes 
to  be  seen  and  felt  that  the  Tract  cause  is  so  intimately  associated 
with  the  Missionary  cause,  and  with  all  that  is  done  in  other  ways  for 


POWER    OF   THE   PRESS.  33 

the  spiritual  good  of  our  race,  I  am  sure  the  Tract  Society  will  be 
sustained,  and  enabled  to  continue  and  enlarge  its  operations. 

"  The  flood  of  immoral  and  infidel  publications,  to  which  you  ad- 
vert, is  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  day.  Much  is  to  be  done  in 
diflTerent  ways  to  check  that  evil.  But  I  know  of  nothing  which  is 
likely  to  be  so  effectual  as  the  wide  circulation  of  the  excellent 
Tracts  or  excellent  Books  which  you  have  published. 

*'  I  have  confidence  in  the  Managers  of  the  Tract  business,  and  in 
others  who  will  meet  with  them  ;  and  doubt  not  you  v/ill  have  wisdom 
from  above,  directing  you  to  judge  and  act  right  hi  regard  to  all  the 
subjects  which  will  come  before  you.  I  find  it  hard  to  deprive  myself 
of  the  pleasure  of  joining  with  you  in  your  deliberations.  I  assure 
you,  that  I  shall,  through  divine  help,  double  my  past  contributions  to 
the  Society,  and  my  endeavors,  in  all  proper  ways,  to  promote  the  ob- 
ject of  your  Meeting. 

"  In  my  view,  the  great  point  is,  to  get  the  object  of  the  Tract  So- 
ciety fairly  before  the  community,  so  as  to  produce,  not  an  extraordi- 
nary and  temporary  excitement,  but  a  deep,  •permanent  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  the  object,  and  a  steady  habit  of  contributing  to  the 
funds  of  the  Society.  The  generous  charities  and  the  fervent  prayers 
of  ministers  and  christians  are  indispensable." 

Rev.  R.  S.  Cook,  Secretary,  presented  the  following  Do- 
cument. 


DOCUMENT   III. 

The  Power  of  the  Press— for  Good  and  for  Evil. 
I.    ITS  INFLUENCE  IN  THE  REFORMATION. 

Just  three  centuries  and  a  quarter  ago,  an  obscure  men- 
dicant monk  approached  the  Castle  of  Wittemberg,  and 
nailed  to  the  church-door  a  paper  containing  ninety-five 
theological  propositions.  They  would  only  have  served, 
perhaps,  as  the  death-warrant  of  their  bold  author,  but  for 


34"  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

the  wonderful  Providence  that  gave  wings  to  the  seeds  of 
truth  they  contained,  by  which  they  were  scattered  over 
the  whole  field  of  the  Church.  The  press  spread  these 
theses  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  "  In  the  space  of  a 
fortnight,"  says  a  cotemporary  historian,  "they  had 
spread  over  Germany,  and  within  a  month  they  had  run 
through  all  Christendom,  as  if  angels  themselves  had  been 
the  bearers  of  them  to  all  men." 

Wherever  this  Tract  of  Luther's  went,  "  it  shook  the 
very  foundations  of  proud  Rome;  threatened  with  instant 
ruin  the  walls,  gates  and  pillars  of  the  Papacy  ;  stunned 
and  terrified  its  champions,  and  at  the  same  time  awak- 
ened from  the  slumber  of  error  many  thousands  of  men." 
It  was  one  of  a  wide  series  of  triumphs  achieved  by  the 
truth  of  God,  apprehended  by  a  master  mind,  and  pro- 
claimed through  the  only  channel  by  which  the  world 
could  have  been  aroused  from  the  deathlike  sleep  of  cen- 
turies. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  in  passing,  that  three  Re- 
formations are  linked  together  by  the  mysterious  art  of 
writing  and  printing.  An  eminent  historian  (Turner)  in- 
forms us  that  "  as  the  writings  of  Wickliff'  made  John 
Huss  the  Reformer  of  Bohemia,  so  the  writings  of  John 
Huss  led  Martin  Luther  to  be  the  Reformer  of  Germany  : 
so  extensive  and  so  incalculable  are  the  consequences 
which  sometimes  follow  from  human  actions." 

Tracing  the  Reformation  beyond  these  first  beginnings, 
D'Aubigne  saj^s,  "  If  we  except  Switzerland,  where  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  had  been  already  heard,  the  arri- 
val of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemherg's  ivritings  every  where 
forms  the  first  page  in  the  History  of  the  Reformation. — 
A  printer  at  Basle  scattered  the  first  germs  of  truth.  At 
the  moment  when  the  Rom.an  Pontiff  thought  to  stifle  the 
work  in  Germany,  it  began  to  manifest  itself  in  France, 
the  Low  Countries,  Italy,  Spain,  England  and  Switzer- 
land.   Even  though  the  power  of  Rome  should  fell  the 


POWER    OF    THE    PRESS.  35 

parent   stem,   the  seeds  of  truth  are   henceforth   spread 
abroad  in  all  lands." 

When  the  conflict  thickened,  Luther's  voice  resounded 
far  and  wide.  •^"  Three  printing-presses  were  incessantly- 
employed  in  multiplying  copies  of  his  various  writings. 
His  discourses  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  through  the 
whole  nation,  supporting  the  agitated  penitent  in  the  con- 
fessional— giving  courage  to  the  faltering  convert  in  the 
cloister — and  asserting  the  claims  of  evangelic  truth, 
even  in  the  abodes  of  princes." 

The  voice  of  God  was  now  to  be  heard.  The  New 
Testament,  in  German,  was  given  to  the  world,  and  ten 
thousand  sheets  a  day,  from  three  presses,  were  issued. 
In  about  ten  years,  previous  to  1553,  fifty-eight  editions 
were  printed  and  circulated ;  and  the  Old  Testament 
soon  followed,  issued  in  Tracts  or  parts,  as  the  Bible  ori- 
ginally was,  "  to  make  the  purchase  easy  to  the  poor, 
who  caught  at  the  sheets  given  to  the  world  as  a  letter 
coming  to  them  from  heaven." 

In  1521  Melancthon  issued  his  Tract,  Loci  CommuneSy 
the  design  of  which  was  "  to  present  theology  as  a  sys- 
tem of  devotion ;"  and  it  passed  through  67  editions  in 
74  years,  without  including  translations.  "  Next  to  the 
Bible,  this  work  may  have  mainly  contributed  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  evangelical  doctrine." 

The  impulse  which  the  Reformation  gave  to  popular 
literature  in  Germany  was  prodigious.  Whilst  in  the 
year  1517  only  37  publications  were  issued,  in  1523,  but 
six  years  after,  498  were  published,  183  of  which  were 
from  the  pen  of  Luther  alone,  incredible  as  it  may  seem. 
"  Whatever  Luther  and  his  friends  composed,  others  dis- 
seminated far  and  wide.  Monks,  who  were  too  ignorant 
to  be  able  themselves  to  proclaim  the  word  of  God,  tra- 
versed the  provinces,  and  visiting  the  hamlets  and  cot- 
tages, sold  them  to  the  people.  Germany  was  ere  long 
overrun  with  these  enterprising  colporteurs.    The  efforts 


36  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

to  suppress  these  writings  increased  the  eagerness  of  the 
people  to  possess  them;  and  when  bought,  they  were 
read  with  redoubled  ardor.  By  similar  means,  transla- 
tions of  Luther's  works  were  circulated  in  France,  Spain, 
England  and  Italy." 

The  Swiss  Reformers  were  not  slow  in  learning  the 
power  of  the  press.  At  an  early  date,  a  colporteur  named 
Lucian  was  employed  by  Zwingle,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  a  scholar  at  Basle,  himself  "an  unwearied  propa- 
gator of  Luther's  writings,"  "  to  go  from  city  to  city, 
from  town  to  town,  from  village  to  village,  nay,  from 
house  to  house,  all  over  Switzerland,  carrying  with  him 
the  writings  of  Luther.  To  this  expedient  w^as  many  a 
Swiss  family  indebted  for  the  gleam  of  light  that  found 
entrance  into  their  humble  dwelling." 

If  we  turn  a  moment  to  France,  we  find  the  principal 
Reformer  giving  her  the  New  Testament  in  1524;  and 
when  the  faithful  few  were  driven  from  the  kingdom,  we 
see  them  on  the  borders,  consulting  on  "  the  importance 
of  scattering  the  Scriptures  and  pious  writings  in  their 
country."  "  Oh,"  exclaimed  these  refugees,  "  would  to 
God  that  France  vrere  so  supplied  with  Gospel  writings, 
that  in  cottages  and  in  palaces,  in  cloisters  and  in  presby- 
teries, and  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of  all  hearts,  a  powerful 
witness  might  be  borne  for  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  The  presses  stationed  at  Basle  were  incessantly 
employed  in  multiplying  French  works,  w^hich  w^ere  for- 
warded to  Farel,  and  by  him  introduced  into  France, 
through  colporteurs — *'  poor  men,  of  good  character  for 
piety,  who,  bearing  their  precious  burden,  went  through 
towns  and  villages,  from  house  to  house,  knocking  at 
every  door."  Thus,  as  early  as  1524,  there  existed  in 
Basle,  and  having  France  for  the  field  of  their  operations, 
a  Bible  Society,  an  Association  of  Coljjorteurs,  and  a 
Religious  Tract  Society." 

This  brief  review  is  sufficient  to  show  the  estimate  in 


POWER    OF    THE    PRESS.  37 

which  the  press  was  held  by  the  Reformers  ;  and  it  fur- 
nishes some  insight  into  the  means  by  w^hich  that  ama- 
zing Reformation  was  achieved,  in  the  blessings  of  which 
ten  generations  of  men  have  rejoiced,  and  which  will  be 
the  joy  and  wonder  of  all  succeeding  ages. 

There  is,  however,  another  mode  of  illustrating  the 
power  of  this  agency  as  a  means  of  reformation,  by  a 
glance  at  the  efforts  made  on  the  yart  of  its  enemies  to  re- 
sist and  suppi'ess  it. 

Tetzel,  concerned  for  the  fate  of  his  traffic  in  indulgen- 
ces, denounced  "punishment  and  disgrace  in  this  world, 
and  condemnation  at  the  great  day,  to  those  who  scrib- 
bled so  many  books  and  Tracts,"  as  well  as  to  those  who 
•'took  pleasure  in  their  writings,  and  circulated  them 
among  the  people  and  in  society."  The  Emperor  Charles 
V.  issued  a  decree,  ratified  by  the  imperial  Diet,  that  the 
writings  of  the  Reformers  should  "not  merely  be  rejected, 
but  destroyed."  "  You  will,  therefore,"  said  this  mandate 
to  all  princes  and  prelates,  "burn,  or  in  other  wajj'S  utter- 
ly destroy  them."  The  Pope  issued  a  bull,  approved  by 
the  Sacred  College,  enjoining  upon  "  the  bishops  to 
search  diligently  for  the  writings  of  Martin  Luther,  and 
to  burn  them  publicly  and  solemnly,  in  the  presence  of 
the  clergy  and  of  the  laity."  Even  Henry  VIII.  attempt- 
ing in  vain  to  put  down  the  influence  of  Luther's  writings 
by  his  own  royal  pen,  thought  the  flames  a  more  effective 
extinguisher,  and  proceeded  in  solemn  procession,  with 
Cardinal  Wolsey  and  the  dignitaries  of  England  and 
Rome,  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  to  burn  the  writings  of  the 
poor  monk  of  Wittemberg — and,  though  ''  his  heart  did 
not  mean  so,"  to  kindle  the  fires  of  the  Reformation 
throughout  England !  In  France,  the  government  of 
Louis  XIV.  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
sent  dragoons  through  the  kingdom  to  destroy  all  the 
evangelical  writings  to  be  found  ;  and  so  successfully  did 


38  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING  ^ 

they  prosecute  their  mission,  that  they  extirpated  the 
christian  literature  of  the  French,  and  with  it  almost  the 
last  vestige  of  vital  piety. 

We  pause  here,  without  pursuing  this  mode  of  illustra. 
tion  through  the  more  familiar  history  of  the  Puritan  age, 
when  the  press  came  again  to  the  aid  of  evangelical  reli- 
gion in  a  period  of  persecution  and  oppression,  and  scat- 
tered abroad  those  spiritual  classics  which  Baxter,  Bun- 
yan,  Flavel,  and  their  cotemporaries  wrote  for  the  com- 
mon mind,  and  for  universal  man. 

Has  the  agency  that  in  the  16th  century  could  wake  to 
life  the  energies  of  dormant  mind  in  all  the  kingdoms  of 
Europe;  that  excited  the  alarm  and  provoked  the  indig- 
nation of  Emperors,  Popes,  and  Kings,  lest  it  should  end 
their  domination  over  the  consciences  of  men  ;  that,  a  cen- 
tury after,  enabled  a  few  persecuted  men  to  break  again  the 
yoke  of  semi-papal  oppression,  give  liberty  of  conscience 
to  England,  and  bring  down  the  Gospel  to  the  masses  of 
the  people ;  that  has  ever  been  the  defence  of  the  Church 
from  the  assaults  of  infidelity :  has  this  wonderful  engine 
of  light  lost  its  power,  now  that  the  trammels  of  supersti- 
tion no  longer  bind  its  arms,  and  its  arrows,  unlike  those 
of  a  rude  age,  rough  and  hastily  made,  may  be  the  polish- 
ed shafts  chosen  from  the  armories  of  all  ages  ?  In  other 
words,  if  such  wonders  were  wrought  by  the  press  in  the 
infancy  of  its  power,  at  the  darkest  period  of  the  dark  ages, 
with  only  the  productions  of  a  few  poor  monks,  and  when 
every  thing  conspired  to  diminish  its  influence,  what 
may  not  be  accomplished  by  it,  under  God,  with  all  its 
improvements,  with  the  productions  of  the  best  minds  of 
centuries,  with  a  hundred-fold  increase  in  the  number 
of  readers,  with  nothing  to  oppose,  but  every  thing  to 
encourage  the  fullest  employment  of  all  its  influence  for 
the  extension  and  up-building  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  ? 
Shame,  shame  on  the  man  who  would  place  his  hand  on 


POWER    OF    THE    PRESS.  39 

the  mouth  by  which  the  Church  may  now  speak  in  ma- 
ny more  languages  than  are  recorded  of  the  miraculous 
gift  of  tongues,  and,  with  more  than  Reformation  power, 
the  words  of  eternal  life,  which  shall  be  like  the  "  leaves 
from  the  tree  of  life,  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  !" 

The  Committee  derive  encouragement  in  their  ar- 
duous work  from  the  facts  thus  developed  in  the  provi- 
dences of  the  past,  connected  with  the  main  instrument  of 
the  Society's  usefulness.  They  are  not  left,  however, 
without  a  witness  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  blessinsf 
his  truth,  diffused  by  a  similar  agency  at  the  present  day. 
Could  the  influences  going  forth  from  the  60,000,000 
Tracts  and  2,000,000  books,  in  our  land  alone,  be  gather- 
ed up,  a  record  would  be  furnished  as  instructive  and  as 
cheering  as  that  found  on  any  page  of  history.  Even  with 
the  imperfect  means  of  information  enjoyed  by  the  Com- 
mittee, and  recent  as  is  the  work  on  a  scale  at  all  ex- 
tended, scarce  a  day  passes  v/ithout  cheering  intelligence 
from  some  quarter,  of  individual  souls  converted,  of  re- 
vivals of  religion  promoted,  of  believers  edified  and 
strengthened,  or  of  good  in  some  way  to  particular  classes 
or  communities. 

Instead  of  occupying  the  attention  of  the  Board  with 
a  detail  of  these  results,  which  abound  in  the  Annual 
Reports  and  other  documents  of  the  Society,  the 
Committee  would  suggest  that  a  season  be  devoted,  du- 
ring the  present  sessions,  to  a  narrative  of  the  results  of 
the  volume  circulation,  as  they  have  come  under  the  eye 
of  the  members  of  the  Board,  and  pastors  and  others 
present. 

II.    ITS    INFLUENCE    IN   FRANCE. 

It  were  well  if  the  subject  might  be  left  here — if  there 
were  no  illustrations  of  the  power  of  the  press  for  Revo- 
lution, as  well  as  for  Reformation.   But,  unhappily,  an 


40  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

agent  so  mighty  for  good  has  found  mhids  perverse 
enough  to  employ  it  in  giving  ubiquity  and  immortality 
to  evil  principles,  which  more  than  once  have  poisoned 
the  public  mind  by  degrees,  till  it  was  lashed  into  fury,  as 
the  waves  of  the  sea  are  tossed  before  the  tempest.  An 
author  has  said  that  "the  people  are  a  vast  body,  of 
which  men  of  genins  are  the  hands  and  the  eyes;  and 
ihe public  mind  is  the  creatio7i  of  the  philosophical  wriler.^^ 
And  the  well  known  proverb,  ^' scribere  est  agere'^ — to 
WRITE  IS  TO  ACT,  which  was  decreed  by  Charles  II. 
when  pronouncing  death  upon  Algernon  Sydney  for 
manuscripts  found  in  his  possession,  is  to  the  sam.e  point. 
Paine  might  have  lived  and  died  the  drunken  infidel  that 
he  was,  and  his  memory  and  influence  have  perished 
with  him,  without  dragging  down  thousands  to  share  his 
miserable  doom,  but  for  the  mysterious  agent  that  still 
heralds  his  infidelity  and  his  shame. 

The  French  Revolution  had  never  disgraced  humanity, 
but  for  the  preliminary  steps  of  dragooning  out  of  being 
every  vestige  of  vital  piety  in  the  books  possessed  by  the 
people,  and  then  ^'unchaining  the  tiger^^  and  letting  him 
loose  on  the  people,  in  millions  of  infidel  and  atheistical 
pamphlets  and  Tracts,  (to  say  nothing  of  the  Encyclopedia, 
and  other  works  of  atheistic  science  for  the  learned,)  by 
which  the  populace  were  prepared  for  anarchy  and  the 
reign  of  Terror !  And  what  was  it  that  threatened  to  in- 
undate England,  toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, with  the  infidelity  of  France  ?  Not,  surely,  the  per- 
sonal presence  of  Voltaire,  Marat,  and  Rousseau  ;  but  their 
poisonous  writings,  which,  for  aught  apparent,  might  have 
accomplished  their  diabolical  purpose  to  "crush"  Chris- 
tianity, but  for  the  kind  Providence  that  raised  up  able 
champions  of  the  cross,  who  wrote  for  the  masses  as  well 
as  the  learned,  and  "  lifted  up  a  standard  against  the 
enemy  when  he  came  in  like  a  flood." 

Were  other  illustrations  needed,  of  the  mischievous  and 


POWER   OF   THE  PRESS.  41 

wide-reaching  influence  of  error,  when  propagated  by  the 
press,  they  might  be  found  in  our  own  times ;  a  single 
*'  Tract  press,"  with  Papal  tendencies,  swerving  numbers 
from  the  faith  in  a  single  branch  of  the  Church. 

In  this  country,  the  source  of  immediate  danger  is  not 
so  much  from  an  avowedly  infidel  press,  as  from  a  more 
insidious  attack  on  public  morals  and  private  virtue  ;  first, 
by  dissevering  the  connection  between  science,  literature 
and  religion,  in  the  means  of  early  instruction ;  and, 
secondly,  by  fostering  a  love  for  the  fictitious  and  extrava- 
gant, interlarded  with  the  profane  and  licentious. 

The  great  purposes  of  infidelity  are  mainly  answered,  if 
only  religion  can  be  kept  out  of  the  popular  reading  of 
the  mass,  and  especially  of  the  young.  The  natural  heart 
will  lead  fer  enough  away  from  the  cross  without  any 
positive  evil  influences,  if  only  the  Gospel  can  be  exclu- 
ded. But  while  we  rejoice  in  the  amplest  diflusion  of 
knowledge,  and  in  all  means  of  early  instruction,  we  can- 
not but  feel  the  same  alarm  lest  the  means  of  7noral improve- 
ment  should  not  keep  pace  with  the  intellectual,  that  we 
should  at  the  multiplication  of  railroads  and  steamboats,  if 
the  propelling  agent  were  under  no  control.  The  people 
of  France  were  not  destitute  of  intelligence;  but  theirs 
was  not  the  right  kind  of  knowledge.  The  heart  was  un- 
tutored, and  hence  the  catastrophe. 

III.     FICTITIOUS    AND    LICENTIOUS    PRESS. 

One  great  source  of  alarm  is  immediate  and  immi- 
nent. The  press  teems  and  the  mails  groan  with  fic- 
tion and  trash.  Daily,  and  weekly,  and  monthly  peri- 
odicals are  filled  with  matter,  not  only  worthless,  but 
often  positively  demoralizing.  The  injury  to  mind  and 
morals  was  sufficiently  deplorable,  when  hundreds  of 
steam-presses  were  throwing  off  their  thousands  of  vo- 
lumes daily  of  novels  and  romances :  and  when  circu- 


42  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

lating  libraries  served  as  literary  groceries,  to  furnish  the 
means  of  mental  intoxication  for  the  fashionable  and  the 
foolish.  But  now  the  United  States  Mail  Department  is 
transformed  into  a  great  circulating  library,  by  which, 
at  the  twentieth  part  of  the  cost  of  transmitting  a  billet 
to  a  friend,  enough  of  the  confection  of  literature  to  de- 
range healthy  mental  digestion  for  a  month,  can  be  con- 
veyed to  the  remotest  village  in  the  land.  The  extent  of 
the  issues  of  this  kind  is  as  incalculable  as  the  mischief 
wrought  by  their  indiscriminate  and  almost  universal 
perusal. 

But  this  evil  demands  a  more  solemn  and  stern  rebuke. 
It  is  not  a  light  thing  that  there  should  be  entering  all  our 
dwellings,  men — or  what  is  worse,  their  works — with 
unprincipled  morals,  giving  false  views  of  life,  and  cast- 
ing sneers  upon  the  Gospel  and  its  professors*  to  fill  up 
all  the  leisure  hours  of  parents,  children  and  domestics 
with  tales,  that,  if  true,  should  not  be  read,  and  the  less, 
since  they  are  false.  Every  steamship  brings  "  the  latest 
novel" — of  an  author,  who,  perhaps,  is  illustrating  in  his 
life  the  principles  of  his  book,  violating  one  or  all  the 
commandments  of  the  Decalogue — while  every  steamboat 
carries  into  the  interior  mammoth  editions  to  poison  the 
minds  and  ruin  the  souls  of  the  multitudes  who  are  eager 
to  devour  the  precious  effusions.  O,  what  havoc  of  mind 
and  morals  results  from  this  wholesale  dealing  in  what  is 
false  !  Popular  fiction  invariably  gives  a  disrelish  for 
simple  truth  ;  engenders  a  habit  of  reading  for  amusement 
simply,  which  destroys  all  hope  of  mental  improvement ; 
familiarizes  the  mind  with  scenes  of  genteel  or  vulgar 
debauchery,  and  excites  a  thirst  for  similar  adventures ; 
gives  false  views  of  the  perfectibility  of  human  nature,  and 
leads  to  disappointments  in  the  relations  of  life ;  under- 
mines the  Gospel  and  the  influence  of  the  pulpit,  by  draw- 
ing away  the  mind  from  serious  things,  lessening  the  pro- 
babilities that  its  truths  will  take  effect  on  the  conscience: 


POWER   OF   THE    PRESS.  43 

or  if  they  do,  furnishing  a  ready  mode  of  shaking  off  con- 
viction; and  by  degrees  sapping  the  foundations  of  virtue, 
and  leading  to  crimes  which  once  would  have  been  ab- 
horred. 

He  must  have  been  a  careless  observer  who  has  not 
noticed  fruits  like  these,  of  the  seeds  of  ruin  sown  broad- 
cast over  our  land,  in  the  fictitious  publications  of  which 
we  speak.  We  have  now  arrived  at  the  second  natural 
stage  of  the  degenerate  tendencies  of  the  press.  Grossly 
licentious  papers,  without  even  the  concealment  of  the 
name  which  once  would  have  been  scouted  from  the  com- 
munity, are  unblushingly  circulated  in  the  channels  open- 
ed by  "  the  polite  literature,"  which  has  contributed  to  form 
the  morbid  appetite  that  now  cries  '*  give,  give."  Whether 
it  will  end  in  any  thing  short  of  the  indecencies,  obscenity 
and  infidelity  of  France,  remains  to  be  seen.  Laws  seem 
to  be  inoperative;  public  sentiment  does  not  correct  the 
evil,  and  will  not,  so  long  as  it  tolerates  and  craves  a  lite- 
rature that  has  paved  the  way  for  this ;  and  for  aught  that 
now  appears,  the  moral  sensibilities  are  to  be  still  farther 
outraged  with  the  sight  and  the  sound  of  libidinous  papers, 
even  when  going  to  and  entering  the  sanctuary  of  God. 

Is  it  not  a  proper  subject  of  discussion  and  inquiry,  on 
the  part  of  the  Board,  whether  something  may  not  be 
done  to  restore  a  healthy  moral  tone  of  feeling  on  this 
subject?  Whether,  by  arresting  public  attention  by  the 
pulpit  and  the  press,  the  tide  of  evil  may  not  be  stayed 
before  every  thing  that  is  "  pure,  and  lovely,  and  of  good 
report"  is  blighted  ? 

The  above  document  was  listened  to  with  deep  attention, 
and  its  exhibition  of  the  flagrant  evils  to  which  we  are  sub- 
jected from  this  source  awakened  the  most  serious  reflection. 

The  following  Document,  prepared  by  Rev.  James  W. 
Alexander,  of  Princeton,  N.  J.  who  was  detained  from  the 
meeting,  was  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Potts. 


44  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


DOCUMENT  IV. 


Tlie  Evils  of  an  Unsanctified  JLiterature. 

It  has  been  common  to  speak  of  the  books  which  men 
read,  as  their  companions ;  and  it  is  as  just  to  infer  the 
character  of  men  from  their  reading  as  from  their  asso- 
ciates. Men  will  be  like  their  books,  and  this  for  a  two- 
fold reason :  first,  because  the  literary  productions  of  a 
country  are  the  fruit  of  its  intellect  and  heart ;  and  second- 
ly, because  they  act  with  a  mighty  influence  on  society. 
It  is  therefore  by  no  means  uninteresting  to  the  philan- 
thropist to  inquire,  What  will  be  the  reading  of  our  'pos- 
terity and  countrymen  fifty  years  hence?  If  it  be  pure, 
healthful,  and  fraught  with  wisdom,  the  generation  will  be 
exalted  in  holiness  :  if  it  be  frivolous,  or  false,  or  corrupt- 
ing, or  godless,  the  generation  will  be  perverse  and  aban- 
doned. In  the  remarks  which  follow,  an  attempt  will  be 
made  to  show  that  an  unsanctified  literature  is  threatened, 
and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  avert  so  dire  a  calamity ;  for 
which  purpose  a  series  of  observations  shall  now  invite 
attention,  in  such  method  as  seems  to  promise  due  pers- 
picuity. 

I.     A    CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE    IS    POSSIBLE,    AND    IS 

EARNESTLY  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  There  is  nothing  incom- 
patible with  true  religion  in  the  attainments  of  secular 
wisdom  or  the  delights  of  taste.  The  union  of  Science, 
Letters  and  Art  with  the  revealed  truth  of  God  and  the 
sentiments  of  grace,  has  been  suggested  and  applauded  a 
thousand  times,  until,  so  far  as  abstract  statements  are 
concerned,  the  topic  is  already  hackneyed.  The  ever- 
blessed  God,  who  is  the  Author  of  Nature  and  the  Creator 
of  our  powers  and  susceptibilities,  is  he  who  gave  the 


AN   UNSANCTIFIED   LITERATURE.  45 

Bible,  who  provided  the  great  Redemption,  and  who  made 
the  gracious  affections  of  the  believer  what  they  are. 

This  is,  however,  but  a  feeble  statement  of  what  is"  in- 
tended. Not  only  does  Christianity  admit  of  a  connection 
with  literature  and  science,  but  all  literature  and  science 
must  fail  of  perfection  if  they  lack  this  crowning  excel- 
lency of  renewed  human  nature.  And  if  the  public  mind 
is  susceptible  of  great  impressions  and  movements  from 
topics  of  high  moment,  it  must  be  granted  that  language 
cannot  be  summoned  to  convey  aught  that  is  more  sublime, 
awakening,  or  pathetic,  than  the  themes  of  religion.  Let 
us  think  of  the  multitudes  who  at  a  given  moment  are 
with  avidity  and  delight,  availing  themselves  of  the  fruits 
of  the  press,  in  the  permanent  book  or  the  fugitive  sheet, 
which  enter  every  reading  household ;  and  then  let  us 
ask,  What  are  the  topics  which,  thus  presented,  should 
engage  the  highest  affections  of  these  inquisitive  and  im- 
mortal minds  ?  In  the  expectation  of  an  eternal  state,  im- 
pending so  nearly  over  them  and  us,  what  should  be  the 
great  themes  of  interest  which  the  parent  should  lay  be- 
fore his  child  or  read  at  the  fireside,  and  which  a  thousand 
presses  should  scatter  broad-cast  over  the  mind  of  the  na- 
tion 7  The  answer  requires  no  delay :  it  has  already  arisen 
to  the  lips  of  every  sincere  christian.  Nothing  conceiv- 
able should  or  could  so  awaken  these  souls,  or  so  mightily 
prompt  them  to  action,  or  so  excite  curiosity,  or  so  purge 
the  soul  by  means  of  the  passions  of  fear  and  love,  as  the 
themes  of  revelation  :  the  mystery  of  their  nature  their 
fall,  their  peril,  their  escape  ;  their  death,  judgment,  and 
eternity  ;  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  heaven  to  which  it 
leads.  Add  to  this  the  records  of  prophecy,  the  prospects 
of  the  race,  as  opened  in  the  promise  of  the  latter  glory, 
and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  which  is  to  absorb  and  super- 
sede all  other  dominions.  The  language  of  man  can  utter 
nothing  loftier  or  more  affecting  than  these,  and  what- 
ever impulse  or  charm  can  be  attached  to  words  by  the 

4 


46  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

discoveries  of  science,  the  cogency  of  reasoning,  or  the 
refinements  of  taste,  may  well  be  applied  to  the  work  of 
carrying  these  tremendous  realities  home  to  every  human 
bosom. 

These,  after  all,  are  the  truths  for  which  the  soul  v/as 
made.     The  heart  which  has  not  been  reached  by  them, 
has  susceptibilities  as  yet  altogether  latent.     These  are 
the  subjects  which,  above  all  others,  will  yet  agitate  society 
to  its  remotest  fibres.    It  would  be  folly  to  assert,  then,  that 
religious  considerations  cannot  be  made  interesting  to  the 
common  mind.    Compared  with  these,  what  are  the  things 
which  our  current  literature — -if  literature  it  can  be  called 
— offers  to  the  myriads  of  eager  readers  !     What,  in  such 
a  view,  are  the  fugitive  tales,  the  feigned  embarrassments, 
and  escapes,  and  catastrophes,  the  unnatural  plots,  the  pic- 
ture of  life  high  or  low,  the  song  and  jest,  all  which  are 
gaped  after  and  hunted  out  with  an   avidity  which  not 
even  the  nightly  work  of  the  press  and  the  importunity  of 
the  newsboy  can  satisfy  !    The  day  has  been  when  masses 
of  the  people  were  convulsed  by  these  very  truths.     This 
is  the  subject,  these  are  the  very  propositions  which  broke 
the  sleep  of  the  Gentile  world  wherever  apostolic  teach- 
ing made  its  way ;    which  ran  through    Northern   and 
Middle  Europe,  in  that  amazing  revival  which  we  call  the 
Reformation  ;  which  penetrated  every  branch  of  the  great 
Anglo-Saxon  tree  in  the  seventeenth  century  ;  and  which 
were  so  familiar  and  so  dear  to  the  settlers  of  New  Eng- 
land, that  to  this  day  they  are  the  acknowledged  cause  of 
the  eminent  intelligence  and  success  of  that  happy  land. 
The  reading  of  the  people  just  mentioned  was,  at  these 
eras,  almost  exclusively  religious   reading.     It   will  be 
so  again,  among  every^  people,  with  all  the  aids  and  em- 
bellishments of  science  and  learning  suited  to  the  progress 
of  the  race. 

There  is  not  a  department  of  science  or  a  walk  of  in- 
nocent letters  which  does  not  claim  of  us  to  be  wedded 


AN   ITNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE.   "  47 

to  religion.  To  dissever  the  two,  is  to  shut  out  heaven 
from  earth.  Natural  philosophy  and  natural  history,  in 
their  largest  acceptation,  stand  ready  to  become  religious 
sciences,  by  merely  turning  their  face  toward  God,  whose 
they  are,  and  whom  they  serve.  The  history  of  man, 
aside  from  the  plan  of  Providence,  is  a  labyrinth  without 
a  clew.  Poetry  and  Music,  always  claiming  to  be  sacred, 
miss  their  proper  themes  when  banished  from  the  sanc- 
tuary. And,  if  we  are  true  to  our  vocation  as  christians, 
we  shall  be  restless  and  unsatisfied  until  we  shall  have 
secured  the  teaching  of  whatever  is  worth  teaching  at  all, 
in  subserviency  to  God's  grand  scheme  of  civilization,  by 
means  of  holy  Scripture  and  regenerating  grace. 

tn  particular  cases,  and  with  various  degrees  of  suc- 
cess, we  see  how  kindly  may  be  the  union  of  Science  and 
Literature  with  Divine  Truth  ;  for  we  see,  on  the  one 
hand,  a  Bacon,  a  Newton,  and  a  Pascal,  and  on  the  other, 
a  Milton  and  a  Cowper.  We  see  it  exemplified  in  the 
education  which  every  gifted  christian  gives  to  a  son  or 
a  daughter,  and  this  by  means  of  books,  or  what  might  be 
conveyed  by  books ;  and  the  sight  should  prompt  us  to 
diffuse  the  benefit  and  promote  the  sacred  union  as  far 
as  our  united  strength  can  reach. 

II.  No  COUNTRY  HAS  YET  HAD  A  THOROUGHLY  CHRIS- 
TIAN Literature.  Every  christian  country  has  had 
the  blessing  for  a  time,  and  in  a  portion  of  its  population; 
but  none  has  been  leavened  in  the  whole  mass.  Enough 
has  been  efTected,  on  a  small  scale,  at  seasons  of  heavenly 
excitement,  to  show  us  what  might  be  done ;  but  thus  far 
the  majority  of  authors  and  readers  have  been  of  the  earth, 
earthy.  The  world  has  yet  to  look  for  a  sanctified  litera- 
ture. The  seeming  exceptions  would  not  detain  us  long, 
even  in  detail.  Individuals  there  have  been  who  have 
laid  their  science  and  learning  at  the  feet  of  Christ. 

"  Philosophy,  baptised 
"  In  the  pure  fountain  of  eternal  love, 


48  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

'*  Has  eyes  indeed  :  and  viewing  all  she  sees 

*' As  meant  to  indicate  a  God  to  man, 

'*  Gives  him  the  praise,  and  forfeits  not  her  own. 

"  Learning  has  borne  sueb  froit  in  other  days 

*'  On  all  her  branches  ;  piety  has  found 

"  Friends  in  the  friends  of  science,  and  true  prayer 

"  Has  flowed  from  lips  wet  with  Castalian  dews." 

But  ill  no  country  has  the  prevailing  taste  for  any 
length  of  time  been  governed  by  such  minds ;  and,  in 
most,  the  religious  compositions  of  the  age  have  flowed 
in  a  fertilizing  but  narrow  stream  through  a  land  of  car- 
nal pleasure  and  godless  learning.  The  Reformation  had 
giants  of  literature,  but  more  giants  were  left  within  the 
walls  of  Rome;  and  while  the  holy  scholars  of  Great 
Britain  were  laboring  for  the  Gospel,  the  liveliest  writers 
of  the  age  of  the  Charleses  were  sweetening  a  cup  of  poi- 
son, to  be  handed  dow^n  even  to  our  day. 

It  is  reserved  for  another  era,  to  see  a  whole  nation 
drinking  with  eagerness  from  the  wells  of  salvation  ;  and 
no  instructed  christian  can  refrain  from  praying  that  God 
•would  confer  this  unspeakable  benefit  on  our  own  land, 
and  our  own  generation. 

III.  The  Literature  of  our  cou^'try  is  in  a  form- 
ing STATE.  Not  merely,  in  the  strict  and  accredited  use 
of  the  word  Literature,  is  this  true ;  but  in  regard  to  the 
sum  of  all  the  reading  of  our  people.  There  are  rapid 
changes  in  public  taste  and  habit,  which  some  of  us  have 
lived  to  see ;  but  there  are  tendencies  of  which  we  descry 
only  the  beginning,  and  the  termination  of  which  may  be 
disastrous.  The  influences  which  move  upon  our  im- 
mense reading  public  are  powerful  and  innumerable,  as 
we  may  infer  from  the  very  extent  of  the  book-trade,  the 
number  of  imported  works,  the  presses  in  every  city  and 
town,  and  the  multitude  of  periodical  publications.  But 
these  influences  are  not  uniform  and  homogeneous.  The 
plastic  condition  of  the  common  mind  receives  a  mould- 


AN   UNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE.  49 

ing  touch  from  every  great  intellect,  at  home  or  abroad, 
whether  good  or  evil,  and  especially  from  the  fictitious, 
sportive  and  periodical  compositions  of  the  hour. 

That  a  mass  so  ductile  should  be  subjected  to  chance, 
or  to  the  blind  or  sinister  impulses  of  those  who  write 
from  self-interest  alone,  and  who  are  ready  to  cater  for 
the  vilest  appetites. and  passions  of  our  nature,  is  what  the 
christian  world  should  not  brook  for  a  moment.  That 
the  millions  who  read,  and  who,  in  regard  to  the  inner 
man,  live  by  what  they  read,  should  be  left  a  prey  to  li- 
centious, infidel,  or,  at  best,  trifling  and  carnal  authors,  is 
an  evil  of  such  injustice  as  would  shock  us,  if  we  could  / 
see  it  in  its  proper  colors.  And  to  do  this  the  more  fully, 
it  is  desirable  to  inquire  how  far  the  general  reading  of 
our  people  deserves  the  name  of  christian. 

IV.  The  literature  of  our  country  is  to  a  great 
EXTENT  IRRELIGIOUS.  Not  that  it  is  iufidel  or  anti-chris- 
tian  in  a  positive  degree,  but  that  it  is  not  so  imbued  with 
Christianity  as  that  wherever  it  goes  it  carries  with  it  the 
savour  of  divine  things.  Laying  out  of  view,  for  a  little, 
those  works  which  inculcate  infidelity  or  vice,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  of  the  large  number  which  remains,  that 
religious  truth  enters  into  a  small  portion.  This  is  true  of 
the  daily  residing  of  all  classes,  of  the  books  used  in  schools, 
and  of  those  which  by  thousands  form  the  solace  of  the 
leisure  hour.  The  people  of  the  United  States  are  more 
extensively  a  reading  people  than  any  upon  earth.  And. 
in  estimatino-  the  influence  of  what  is  read,  we  are  not  to 
confine  ourselves  to  the  large  volume,  but  include  the 
magazine,  the  newspaper,  the  song-book,  the  stitched  play 
or  tale,  and  the  monosyllabic  primer  of  the  child.  Our 
presses  are  prolific  in  due  proportion  to  the  labor-saving 
devices  of  the  arts.  All  censorship  of  books  is  absent. 
Every  class  of  minds  is  addressed  by  the  teeming  period- 
ical press,  and  publishers  vie  with  each  other  in  afibrding 
this  luxury  of  modern  times  at  the  lowest  possible  price. 


50  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

The  Statistics  of  the  newspaper  press  alone  are  enough  to 
astonish  one  who  comes  newly  to  the  calculation.  Or,  in 
default  of  this,  a  single  walk  through  one  populous  tho- 
roughfare, or  a  single  hour  on  a  steamboat-wharf,  or  a 
Sunday  visit  to  a  dozen  working-men,  will  suffice  to  show 
how  welcome  the  closely-printed  journal  is  to  every  class 
of  our  people,  and  how  sedulously  it  is  studied,  even  by 
the  hackney-coachman  on  his  box,  the  operative  on  his 
scaffold,  and  the  poorest  wayfaring  man  who  has  a  penny 
at  command.  From  being  a  succinct  account  of  the  more 
important  news,  the  journal  has  come  to  embrace  every 
thing  which  human  curiosity  can  crave,  and  especially 
the  record  of  all  the  crimes  of  all  the  convicted  felons  of 
the  land,  with  every  disgusting  detail  of  evidence,  until 
even  children  learn  not  to  shudder  at  bloodshed  or  blush 
at  uncleanness.  The  very  advertisements  of  popular 
newspapers  now  tell  of  enormities,  and  intimate  escapes 
from  the  ills  of  vice,  at  Avhich  our  fathers  would  have 
grown  pale.  Whole  works,  of  some  length,  are  in  this 
shape  spread  before  multitudes  who  would  not  otherwise 
obtain  them ;  and  these,  in  many  cases,  works  of  more 
than  doubtful  character.  With  many  this  is  almost  the 
sole  reading ;  and  it  would  be  enough  if  quantity  were  all ; 
for  it  occupies  many  an  hour  in  the  week,  and  much  of 
the  holy  Sabbath.  And  if  we  are  reminded  that  there  are 
public  journals  which  nobly  subserve  the  cause  of  morals 
and  religion,  we  cannot  but  remember  that  there  are  others 
which  as  openly  do  the  work  of  destruction ;  while,  be- 
tween these  extremes,  there  is  an  extensive  series,  which 
are  the  too  faithful  mirror  of  every  folly  and  every  trans- 
gression of  our  sinning  people.  Of  much,  then,  in  this 
portion  of  our  literature,  no  christian  characteristic  can 
be  predicted. 

Next  in  general  interest  we  may  name  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing class  of  fictitious  works ;  tales,  novels  and  ro- 
mances.   Without  taking  that  high  ground  from  which 


AN    UNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE.  bl 

severe  moralists  have  condemned  all  of  this  species,  we 
may  surely  say  that,  in  point  of  fact,  these  books  are  not 
only  void  of  any  religious  tendency,  but  that  they  culti- 
vate a  taste  for  momentary  gratification,  distemper  the 
mind  in  regard  to  all  solid  acquirement,  and  in  many  in- 
stances convey  the  seductive  poison  of  error  and  voluptu- 
ousness. As  the  matter  now  stands,  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
half  the  reading  of  those  who  most  need  the  improvement 
of  books  is  confined  to  this  class,  and  that  thousands  of 
the  young,  in  the  laboring  circles,  devour  everything  ac- 
cessible of  this  sort  wiih  an  undiscriminating  voracity. 

Rising  from  these  inferior  paths,  we  shall  find  to  our 
sorrow,  that  of  what  may  be  called  the  solid  instruction  of 
our  age,  m.uch  is  absolutely  irreligious.  Science,  in  all 
its  circle,  is  taught  as  if  the  God  whose  workmanship  the 
objects  of  science  are,  were  to  be  studiously  disregarded  ; 
and  a  course  of  thorough  scientific  study,  embracing  the 
very  materials  of  natural  theology,  might  be  made  out 
from  authors  of  reputation  and  ability,  which  might  be  pe- 
rused without  finding  an  allusion  to  the  design  and  bene- 
volence of  an  Almighty  Creator.  The  same  is  true  of  a 
great  portion  of  historical  literature,  both  old  and  new. 
From  whom  do  we  so  generally  learn  the  annals  of  the 
Roman  empire,  annals  inseparably  connected  Avith  the  rise 
of  the  Church,  as  from  Gibbon  ?  To  whom  is  the  in- 
quirer concerning  the  next  period  oftener  directed  than  to 
Russell?  Who  is  the  most  popular  and  fascinating  his- 
torian of  our  own  ancestry,  if  not  Hume?  Or  what  ge- 
neral survey  of  the  fortunes  of  the  race  at  large  is  in 
wider  circulation  than  that  of  Rotteck?  Inferior  but  less 
sceptical  writers  abound,  who  nevertheless  have  no  sen- 
tence which  lifts  the  soul  to  God. 

Even  where  learning  is  genuine,  therefore,  and  solid,  it 
is  irreligious,  in  the  sense  of  being  divorced  from  religion. 
The  parts  of  truth,  in  order  to  be  communicated,  are  dis- 
sected away  from  their  native  connection  withjhe  great 


52  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

truth  of  the  system.  Where  religion  is  introduced,  it  is, 
in  a  very  large  class  of  able  and  popular  works,  such  re- 
ligion as  will  present  no  foolishness  to  the  Greek  and  no 
stumbling-block  to  the  Jew  ;  such  religion  as  will  equally 
please  the  Papist  and  the  Socinian  ;  in  a  word,  a  cold  De- 
ism, which  even  Islam  would  not  reject :  and  this  in  a 
land  professedly  christian,  and  in  books  which  make  no 
little  show  of  devotion.  By  such  a  literature  our  posterity 
must  be  educated,  unless  we  substitute  a  better.  A  develop- 
ment of  mind,  furthered  by  such  discipline,  is  dispropor- 
tioned  and  monstrous;  and  the  more  so,  the  higher  the 
intellectual  attainment.  That  science  which  takes  no 
cognizance  of  God's  most  valuable  revelations  can  never 
be  wisdom.  From  such  a  circle  of  knowledge,  however 
useful  on  a  petty  earthly  scale,  God  is  excluded ;  and  we 
revel  in  a  godless  literature,  in  a  world  of  which  every 
lineam.ent  signifies  his  presence.  So  that  where  this  pre- 
vails, he  who  would  learn  the  things  of  God  must  go 
apart,  inquire  elsewhere,  and  resort  to  strictly  religious 
works. 

But  our  reflections  become  still  more  melancholy  when 
we  find  the  same  studied  omission  in  works  deliberately 
prepared  for  the  instruction  of  youth  in  elementary  schools. 
Consider  the  necessary  tendency  of  training  a  child,  day 
by  day,  and  year  by  year,  to  exclude  God  !  Contemplate 
ten  thousan([  schools,  and  millions  of  youth  perpetually 
learning,  and  yet  learning  nothing  which  can  save  their 
souls ;  taught  to  tread  the  very  ground  where  God's  pre- 
sence should  be  felt  at  every  step,  with  a  total  absence  of 
the  idea  of  God  !  Can  such  a  method  fail  to  promote  the 
habit  of  excluding  God  from  the  thoughts  ? 

School  manuals  and  school  libraries  are  formed,  or  are 
in  progress  in  several  of  our  States.  They  have  been 
prepared  with  care,  and  by  men  of  sound  learning.  But 
they  have  in  more  than  one  instance  been  produced  in 
accordance  with  the  very  principle  which  we  deprecate. 


AN   UNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE  53 

Natural  religion,  that  is,  so  mucli  of  truth  as  may  carry 
the  assent  of  the  Mahometan,  the  Jew,  and  the  Deist, 
they  do  sometimes  contain  ;  but  Christ  crucified  they  do 
not  contain.  They  teach  many  things,  they  teach  them 
well ;  but  they  teach  nothing  as  to  the  great  end  for  which 
man  lives,  and  without  which  it  were  better  for  him  that 
he  had  never  been  born.  ^ 

Not  every  book  denominated  religious  contains  evan- 
gelical and  saving  truth.  The  spirit  of  unscriptural  con- 
cession .is  gaining  upon  us.  Even  moral  and  religious 
works  appear,  and  gain  public  favor,  v/hich  exclude  the 
very  vitals  of  piety.  The  grand  central  truths  are  left 
out.  The  reader  moves  in  a  circle  which  keeps  Christ 
and  Redemption  always  out  of  sight.  This,  though  a 
negation,  is  one  of  which  the  consequences  are  positive 
and  ruinous.  No  better  scheme  could  be  devised  for  the 
introduction  of  practical  infidelit}'-,  or  for  educating  a 
generation  of  intelligent  readers  to  be  the  prey  of  destruc- 
tive error.  And  every  pious  patriot  must  shrink  from  the 
anticipation  of  a  whole  people  trained  by  means  of  a  Christ- 
less  literature. 

The  field  would  open  too  widely  for  our  present  limits, 
if  we  were  to  show  how  fatal  is  the  error  of  supposing 
that  intellectual  discipline  and  acquisition,  however  great, 
can  prove  a  real  rational  blessing  without  religion.  We 
can  only  take  time  to  show  the  gigantic  power  of  unsanc- 
tified  learning,  by  pointing  to  the  great  names  of  unbe- 
lievers: to  Voltaire  in  universal  literature;  to  Bentham 
in  jurisprudence  and  statesmanship;  to  Lamarck  in  na- 
tural history,  and  La  Place  in  the  highest  mathematical 
analysis.  Let  the  blasphemy  and  murder  of  the  French 
Revolution  record  the  malign  power  of  great  intelligence 
abandoned  of  God. 

V.  We  must  have  a  Christian  Literature.  All 
that  has  been  said  tends  to  this  point.  We  must  have  it, 
lest  we  become  a  ruined  people.     If  Knowledge  is  Power, 

4* 


54*^  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

it  is,  when  separate  from  religion,  disastrous  power ;  and 
forces  of  this  kind  are  multiplying  every  day.  We  must 
have  a  christian  literature,  because  our  people  are  increas- 
ing with  unprecedented  rapidity  ;  because  readers  are 
multiplied  with  every  effort  in  the  cause  of  schools ;  be- 
cause books  are  more  numerous  and  more  accessible  as 
the  inventions  of  art  advance;  because  our  country  is  to 
be  the  theatre  of  unexampled  events ;  and  because  unless 
we  bestir  ourselves  the  enemy  will  have  pre-occupied  the 
ground. 

The  expectation  of  a  universally  prevalent  literature 
such  as  Christianity  demands,  may  be  set  aside  as  chimeri- 
cal. Yet  before  admitting  the  justice  of  the  censure,  it  is 
right  to  say,  that,  as  christians,  we  are  living  in  the  hope 
of  this  very  thing :  "  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  And 
we  are  bound  to  labor  as  those  who  look  for  such  a  con- 
summation. We  cannot  blindfold  ourselves  to  the  progress 
of  society,  the  diffusion  of  light  and  freedom,  the  strides 
of  science,  the  approximation  of  continents  by  means  of 
art,  the  systematic  energy  of  education;  we  behold  all 
this  tending  to  something  which  the  world  has  not  seen; 
we  tremble  to  observe  these  forces,  in  some  seasons  and 
regions,  operating  towards  evil.  But  in  every  one  of  them 
we  behold  a  mighty  weapon,  which  the  Lord  will  seize, 
for  his  own  purposed  uses,  when  his  time  shall  have  come  : 
and  we  know  of  no  means  within  our  reach  so  potent  as 
the  communication  of  divine  truth. 

Though  the  public  taste  is  vitiated,  and  demands  an 
aliment  which  is  noxious,  and  though  the  existing  litera- 
ture is  supplied  in  correspondence  with  this  morbid  appe- 
tite, we  are  far  from  despairing.  We  hope  both  to  correct 
the  taste  and  to  improve  the  nutriment.  Because  every 
thing  cannot  be  done,  we  will  not  be  content  to  do  nothing. 
Every  good  book  which  goes  abroad,  does  its  part  to- 
wards forming  a  healthful  taste.     Every  conversion  to 


AN   UNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE.   '  55 

G-od  causes  a  desire  for  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word. 
Every  extensive  revival  of  religion  enlarges  the  demand 
for  truth.  As  holy  productions  spread  themselves,  more 
persons  will  find  what  delight  may  be  afforded  by  com- 
positions \vhich  they  lately  rejected  as  dry  and  needless. 
The  tide  will  turn  as  it  regards  popular  fiction.  The 
cloyed  appetite  will  crave  genuine  nourishment.  If  all 
who  have  ever  hung  with  rapture  over  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  or  the  Saints'  Rest,  could  be  summoned  to  testify 
of  their  satisfaction,  even  the  novel-readers  and  haunters 
of  the  playhouse  would  learn  new  pleasures.  Thus  while 
suitable  works,  adapted  to  every  capacity,  are  produced 
and  disseminated,  there  will,  in  an  increasing  ratio,  be  a 
demand  for  more;  and  wherever  grace  strikes  in  with 
the  efibrt  in  its  regenerating  power,  the  geometrical  pro- 
gression will  be  such  as  to  dissipate  all  our  unbelieving 
fears. 

We  must  have,  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
church,  a  settled,  operative  conviction,  that  the  common 
reading-  of  the  nation  is  not  to  be  left  to  chance ;  and  that 
it  is  of  the  highest  moment  for  our  children  and  our  coun- 
try, that  all  which  they  read  should  be  according  to  the 
will  of  God.  It  is  to  public  taste  and  public  conscience, 
and  not  to  the  arm  of  power,  that  we  look  for  this  revolu- 
tion. We  can  endure  no  establishment  to  enforce  a  uni- 
formity of  creed ;  we  ask  no  censorship  to  paralyze  the 
corrupting  press  ;  but  our  hope  is  to  send  abroad  so  much 
of  heavenly  truth  as  shall  win  and  retain  the  affections 
which  are  now  wandering.  And  the  work  will  be  so 
much  the  easier,  if  christian  parents  and  teachers  will 
only  exercise  their  prerogative  by  restraining  those  en- 
trusted to  them  from  the  idle,  enervating,  and  poisoned  en- 
tertainments afforded  by  a  profligate  press  ;  from  the  fool- 
ish fiction,  the  profane  or  licentious  drama,  and,  what  is 
no  less  fearful,  the  daily  print,  redolent  of  vice,  pointing 
the  way  to  unhallowed  amusements,  chronicling  the  par- 


56  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

ticulars  of  crime,  and  trumpeting  to  ten  thousand  families 
vices  and  inventions  which  should.be  buried  as  deeply  as 
the  cities  of  the  plain. 

VI.  In  promoting  this  object,  there    is  ample 

GROUND  ON    WHICH  ALL  EVANGELICAL    CHRISTIANS  MAY 

UNITE.     To  argue  this  point,  would   be  to  vindicate  the 
fundamental  principle  of  the  American  Tract   Society. 
Their  avowed  friends  need  no  such  argument.    But  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  not  a  few  truly  benevolent  chris- 
tians are  withheld  from  giving   a  hearty  support  to  the 
cause  by  doubts  respecting  this  very  proposition.     Even 
against   the  common  enemy  they  scruple  to  wage  any 
warfare   but  under   their  peculiar  banners.     To  such  it 
may  be  right  to  say,  that  these  humble   suggestions  pro- 
ceed from  a  source  which  is  far  from  being  lukewarm  in 
the  cause  of  the  strictest  ecclesiastical  institutions.     It  is 
the  excellence  of  the  Tract  Society's   enterprise,  that   it 
trespasses   upon  no  principles  of  evangelical  churches, 
not  even  those  which  are  highest  and  most  exclusive  in 
their  own  sphere ;  but  it  cannot  go  forward,  unless  the 
brethren  of  different  persuasions  consent  to  join  hands  in 
setting  forward  that  vast  portion  of  truth  in  which  they 
are  agreed.     How  much  this  is,  may  best  be  learnt  from 
the  publications  which  they  have  made.     The  ground  is 
wide  enough  on  which  such  men  meet  as  Baxter,  Bunj^an, 
Mather,  Hall,   Fuller,  Richmond,  Wilberforce,  Cunning- 
ham, De  Vinne  and  Gurney ;  all  speaking  the  same  things, 
and  all  reserving  to  themselves  the  right  of  promoting  to 
the  utmost,  in  other  connections,  the  inculcation  of  their 
respective   tenets.     So  long  as  the  unconverted  millions 
belong  to  no  sect,  great  portions  of  them  must  be  left  un- 
touched, unless  the  true    disciples  of  all  sects    unite  to 
strike  the  blow.    And  the  American  Tract  Society  and  the 
American   Sunday  School  Union  have  been  showing,  for 
a  course  of  years,  how  safe  and  how  effectual  is  such  a 
guarded  association  of  evangelical  effort. 


1 


AN    UNSANCTIFIED    LITERATURE.  57 

VII.  It  is  our  iMxMEdiate  duty  to  unite  in  fur- 
nishing A  christian    literature   to  our    country. 

The  time  of  our  earthly  labor  is  short,  and  we  are  hasten- 
ing to  meet  our  countrymen  at  the  bar  of  God.  It  has 
been  calculated  that,  within  the  lifetime  of  some  now  living", 
the  territory  of  our  Union  will  contain  a  hundred  millions. 
The  tide  sets  so  strongly  into  the  unsettled  regions  as  to 
outstrip  all  the  stated  and  ordinary  means  of  supply.  We 
have  cast  on  the  stream  of  the  present  generation  sixty 
millions  of  Tracts,  and  two  millions  of  books ;  under  the 
favor  of  the  Divine  Spirit  we  humbly  believe  that  even 
this  will  appear  "  in  that  day  "  to  have  been  saving  to  a 
great  multitude.  But  we  can  do  more ;  we  ought  to  do 
more  ;  with  God  helping  us,  we  will  do  more. 

Our  beloved  land  is  just  the  stage  on  which  so  great  an 
action  may  fitly  be  presented.  In  all  the  freshness  of  un- 
encumbered freedom  and  the  bursting  health  of  exuberant 
increase,  in  union  and  unbroken  peace,  we  find  ourselves 
at  the  very  point  w*here  a  grand  experiment  may  begi 
The  genius,  and  learning,  and  zeal  of  the  church  need 
only  to  be  concentrated  ;  the  latent  or  diverted  talent  needs 
only  to  be  brought  into  this  channel ;  education  and  au- 
thorship need  onlyjo  be  sworn  into  the  service  of  Christ, 
in  order  to  move  the  mighty  population  of  America.  And 
what  heart  is  not  swelling  with  hope  and  exultation  at 
the  bare  prospect  of  such  an  effort ;  in  which  christians 
shall  unite  as  christians,  and  consecrate  every  endow- 
ment of  themselves  and  their  sons  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

The  demand  is  no  ordinary  one  ;  it  calls  for  such  read- 
ing for  a  great  nation  as  shall  include  the  very  highest 
fruits  of  human  reason.  But  in  what  cause  shall  great 
sacrifices  be  made,  if  not  in  the  cause  of  Him  who  died 
for  us,  and  who  is  going  forth  to  subdue  the  world  ?  We 
are  called  upon,  in  some  Avay  or  other,  to  flood  the  land 
with  books  which  shall  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  eter- 
nal state.  They  must  be  provided,  and  thrown  into  every 


58  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

college,  school,  and  household.  The  same  Spirit  who 
prompts  the  effort  will  graciously  second  it.  When  the 
great  conversions  and  mighty  revivals  of  a  better  day  shall 
be  more  frequent  and  nearer  together,  the  reading  of  our 
people  will  be  worthier  of  immortal  minds.  Will  it  not 
be  a  good  day  for  our  blessed  country,  when  the  thousands 
yet  unevangelized  shall  be  absorbed  in  eternal  things; 
when  at  every  fire-side,  every  group  of  citizens,  and  every 
assembly,  the  politics  of  this  world  shall  be  less  animating 
than  the  spread  of  the  truth  and  the  dispensation  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  heathen  ! 

There  are  signs  even  m  the  army  of  the  aliens  that  a 
chano-e  must  come.  The  human  soul  cannot  feed  for  ever 
on  a  hollow,  fantastic  literature.  No  extravagance  of 
stimulated  invention  can  avail  to  slake  the  thirst  of  man- 
kind for  nobler  excitement.  Secular  fiction  has  tried  its 
utmost,  and  falls  back  upon  itself;  so  that  it  is  more  true 
than  when  the  sainted  Cowper  penned  it,  that 

"  Authors  liear  at  length  one  general  cry, 
"  Tickle  and  entertain  us,  or  we  die. 
"  The  loud  demand,  from  year  to  year  the  same, 
"  Beggars  invention  and  makes  fancy  lame, 
"  Till  farce  itself,  most  mournfully  jejune, 
"  Calls  for  the  kind  assistance  of  a  tune ; 
"  And  novels  (witness  every  month's  review) 
"  Belie  their  name  and  give  us  nothing  new." 

Yet  our  people  are  becoming  rather  more,  than  less,  sus- 
ceptible of  high  emotions ;  and  have  only  to  feel  the  elec- 
tric awakening  of  heavenly  themes,  to  find  that  truth  may 
possess  the  soul  more  strongly  than  fiction;  that  the  glo- 
ries of  humanity  are  imaginary  until  the  gospel  be  em- 
braced ;  and  that  all  the  amusements,  na)%  all  the  trade, 
and  politics,  and  warfare  of  the  world,  are  trifles,  when 
compared  with  the  work  of  God  in  bringing  back  the 
nations  to  himself. 


MR.  Abbott's  report.  59 

Amidst  the  disheartening  moral  evils  which  prevail, 
and  the  irruptions  of  false  science  and  corrupt  literature, 
which  wound  the  church  on  ever}'-  side,  it  is  our  privilege 
to  go  about  christian  labor  under  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
lofty  hope  derived  from  prophecy ;  for  we  know  the  time 
is  coming  when  truth  shall  drive  out  error  ;  when  "  the 
light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the 
light  of  the  sun  shall  be  seven-fold  as  the  light  of  seven 
days,  in  the  day  that  Jehovah  bindeth  up  the  breach  of  his 
people,  and  healeth  the  stroke  of  their  wound." 

The  two  Documents  above  were  referred  to  a  Committee, 
consisting  of  Rev.  Gorham  D.  Abbott,  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt, 
Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  Rev.  J.  O.  Choules,  and  Hon.  Francis 
Willson.  Rev.  Mr.  Abbott,  in  behalf  of  this  Committee,  sub- 
sequently presented  the  foUo^ving  able  and  valuable 

REPORT. 

The  Committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  papers  entitled 
*'  The  Power  of  the  Press  for  good  or  for  evil,^*  and  "  The  Evils  of 
an  Unsanctified  Literature,^''  respectfully  report : 

That  the  views  presented  in  those  Documents  respectively,  are 
of  a  character  that  deserve  the  most  serious  consideration  of  eve- 
ry christian  and  patriot.  The  interesting  historical  sketch  of  the 
progress  and  achievements  of  the  press  since  God  gave  it  to  our 
world,  and  the  impressive  view  of  the  condition  and  wants  of  our 
country  in  respect  to  a  sanctified  literature,  they  believe  are  des- 
tined to  find  a  response  in  ten  thousand  christian  hearts  through- 
out our  land;  and  if  they  mistake  not  the  signs  of  our  times  and 
the  aspect  of  the  christian  world,  the  responsive  thrill  which  they 
are  calculated  to  awaken  in  the  hearts  of  the  real  benefactors  of 
our  race  will  not  be  confined  to  this  transatlantic  portion  of 
Christendom. 

Your  Committee  would  remark  on  a  few  of  the  topics  brought 
to  view  in  these  Documents. 

THE    PRESS    IN    EUROPE    AND    AMERICA. 

It  has  been  thought  it  would  aid  the  efiect  which  these  papers 
will  produce,  to  accompany  them  with  some  brief  details  of  the 
condition  of  the  press  in  our  country. 


60  DELIBERATIVE    BIEETING. 

A  few  years  since  an  investigation  was  made  of  the  extent  and 
character  of  the  issues  of  the  press,  in  all  its  departments.  It  was 
found  that  there  were  about  140  different  publishing  houses  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  United  States.  It  was  said  by  extensive  book- 
sellers, that  there  were  not  far  from  8000  different  books,  foreign 
and  American,  on  the  trade  lists,  and  then  circulating  in  our  mar- 
kets. A  tabular  view  was  drawn  up,  exhibiting  the  annual  issues 
of  volumes  from  the  presses  of  our  own  country,  of  England, 
France  and  Germany.  From  these  tables  it  appears  that  the  aver- 
age of  the  annual  issues  in  the  United  States  during  the  three 
years,  1833,  1831  and  1835,  was  not  quite  Jive  hundred  different 
works.  In  Great  Britain  there  were  about  1200;  in  France,  5000  ; 
in  Germany,  GOOO.  It  was  to  be  considered,  however,  that  a  consi- 
derable per  ccntage  of  European  publications  was  in  small  edi- 
tions, not  intended  for  general  circulation,  while  in  this  country 
no  book  was  a  candidate  for  publication  without  the  prospective 
circulation  of  at  least  1000  copies.  Not  a  few  of  our  most  popular 
works  reached  ten  times  that  number.  The  spirit  and  enterprise 
of  our  publishers  were  scattering  their  works  with  indefatigable 
industry  all  over  the  land.  The  presses  of  the  city  of  Hartford 
alone  were  pouring  forth  an  annual  stream  of  a  million  of  vo- 
lumes, and  individual  houses  of  other  cities,  having  on  their  list 
of  publications  from  300  to  500  different  works,  were  issuing  at 
least  as  many  hundred  thousand  volumes  a  year.  The  grand  to- 
tal of  all  the  volumes  annually  manufactured  was  about  equal  in 
number  to  ho2f  the  entire  population  of  the  land. 

GENERAL    CHARACTER    OF    THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    PRESS. 

The  character  and  moral  tendencies  of  these  immense  issues 
from  the  press  were  next  the  subject  of  inquiry.  A  comparison  of 
the  statistics  in  the  several  countries  thus  brought  together,  pre- 
sented many  interesting  and  important  facts. 

It  appeared  that  in  France,  during  1834,  there  were  published 
5153  difterent  works,  in  the  various  branches  of  Theology,  Juris- 
prudence, Arts  and  Sciences,  History  and  General  Literature. 
Of  this  number,  320  works,  or  one-sixteenth  of  the  whole,  were 
Romances  and  Tales.  In  our  own  country,  taking  the  aggregate 
of  the  years  1833,  '4  and  '5,  the  total  issues  were  1201  different 
works,  of  which  199,  or  about  one-sixth,  were  Novels  and  Tales! 
One-sixteenth  in  France  !  one  sixth  in  America  ! ! 

In  1833  also,  one-sixth  of  all  the  Novels  and  Tales  published  here 
were  written  by  American  authors;  in  1834,  oyie-fourth;  and  in 
1835,  one-half  were  by  our  own  writers  ;    showing  that  the   pro- 


MR.  Abbott's  report.  61 

portionatc  demand  for  such  productions  was  rapidly  on  the  in- 
crease, and  the  talent  of  our  countrymen  was  put  in  requisition  to 
furnish  the  supply. 

It  could  not  have  been  expected  that  the  statistics  and  data  col- 
lected were  perfectly  accurate  and  full.  They  were  regarded  only  as 
an  approximation  to  the  truth,  and  all  deductions  from  them  were 
received  with  such  allowances  as  were  reasonable  in  the  case.  The 
sources  of  information,  however,  from  which  they  were  derived,  were 
the  best  the  country  afforded.  And  investigations  which  have  since 
been  made,  with  perhaps  equal  care,  confirm  their  general  correct- 
ness. Any  important  fact  or  inference  which  might  have  been  ques- 
tioned then,  cannot  be  doubted  now. 

THE     INFIDEL    PRESS. 

The  infidel  publications  of  the  country  were  also  examined. 

It  was  said  that  there  were  more  than  one  hundred  different  works 
published  and  republishing  in  the  country,  with  the  avowed  object  of 
undermining  public  confidence  in  the  Christian  religion.  The  first 
class  of  these  works  was  on  "  Materialism"  generally,  and  "  Systems 
of  Nature,"  and  of"  Reason."  The  second  was  a  large  class  of  open 
and  often  blasphemous  attacks  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  and 
on  the  sacred  writings.  The  third  class  was,  without  discussion  or  ar- 
gument, a  miscellaneous  mass  of  tracts,  pamphlets  and  papers,  full 
of  assaults  on  holy  things. 

Moreover,  an  examination,  to  some  extent,  of  the  character  of  those 
productions  which  were  most  extensively  circulated  and  read,  fasten- 
ed a  painful  and  deep-seated  conviction  that  there  was  no  source  of 
corruption  to  the  tastes  and  moral  sense  of  our  community  more  to 
be  deprecated.  They  were  filled  with  false  views  of  human  life, 
awakening  expectations  in  the  young  which  must  end  in  bitter  dis- 
appointment when  they  encounter  its  inevitable  realities,  unfitting 
them  to  discharge  the  duties,  to  bear  the  trials,  or  improve  the  disci- 
pline which  life  lays  upon  us  all.  And  to  say  nothing  of  the  absence 
of  correct  principles,  and  of  healthful  and  salutary  instruction,  which 
is  perfectly  compatible  with  the  fullest  relaxation  and  entertainment 
of  rational  beings,  they  abound 'in  positively  demoralizing  influences. 
The  name,  the  attributes,  the  word,  the  institutions,  the  ordinances, 
the  ministers  and  the  children  of  God  are  often  the  subjects  of  pro- 
faneness  or  of  ridicule.  The  oath  points  the  jest,  and  quotations  of 
Scripture  give  spice  to  the  blasphemy.  Vulgarities  of  thought  and  ex- 
pression, and  every  indelicacy  that  can  flow  from  a  pen,  pollute  the 
pages.    Vice  and  crime  are  decked  in  dazzling  colors,  enlisting  the 


62  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

sympathies  of  the  virtuous  in  the  earthly  retributions  of  the  most 
abandoned  profligates.  The  finest  sensibilities  of  the  moral  constitu- 
tion are  wounded  and  blunted.  The  foundations  of  purity,  truth, 
honesty,  and  moral  obligation  are  all  undermined.  A  blank  half  page 
at  the  end  of  a  chapter  is  all  the  comment  on  the  darkest  deeds  of 
blood.  The  turn  of  a  leaf  introduces  the  hero  to  new  and  exciting 
scenes  of  captivating  vice,  and  the  end  of  his  career  in  the  protracted 
outrage  of  all  human  and  divine  laws,  is  the  simple  statement  of  the 
fall  of  the  turf,  or  the  closing  of  the  wave  over  the  end  of  a  suicide. 

INFLUENCE     OF    PICTION. 

It  became  a  grave  question,  how  far  the  increasing  catalogue 
among  us  of  shameless  crimes,  vi'hose  names  are  "  Legion  " — of  pecu- 
lation, of  fraud,  of  murder  and  of  suicide,  was  traceable  to  the  corrupt- 
ing influences  of  such  publications  !  Courvoisier,  the  murderer  of  Lord 
William  Russell,  confessed,  and  wished  the  sheriff  to  let  it  be  known 
to  the  world,  (and  the  murderer's  dying  message  has  reached  our  land,) 
that  the  idea  of  his  work  of  blood  was  first  suggested  to  him  by  reading 
and  seeing  the  performance  of  "Jack  Sheppard."  This  book  was 
lent  to  him  by  one  of  the  servants  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  he  la- 
mented that  he  had  ever  seen  it.  Oxford,  too,  who  sought  the  Queen's 
life,  it  is  said,  made  substantially  the  same  statement  respecting  the 
influence  upon  his  mind  of  the  "  Bravo  of  Venice." 

It  was,  and  is  nojo,  a  question  in  which  every  member  of  socie- 
ty is  interested,  how  many  criminals  have  the  first  idea  of  crime 
"  suggested"  by  the  portraiture  of  crimes  and  vices  in  such  books 
as  these  1  How  many  Coarvoisiers  and  Russells  ;  how  many  Ox- 
fords and  crowned  heads  ;  and  how  many  other  victims  of  vio- 
lence and  defalcation,  of  fraud,  forgery  and  shame,  zteihe  victims 
of  influences  which  flow  from  the  novel  and  the  play  7 

Should  a  few  more  venerable  noblemen  perish,  and  other  daring 
deeds  of  crying  enormity  be  multiplied,  and  it  be  clearly  proved 
that  the  arts  of  the  novelist,  and  the  scenes  of  the  djama  have 
kindled  the  passions  that  direct  the  blow,  the  morality  of  these 
productions  will  assume  a  different  aspect  in  the  eyes  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  We  may  hope  that  something  will  ere  long  be  done 
in  a  land  where  literature,  science,  intellectual  greatness  and 
pure  philanthropy  are  enshrined,  to  stay  the  progress  of  an  evil 
that  does  its  work  at  home,  and  then  comes  to  spend  its  undimi- 
nished, pestilential  power  upon  our  shores.  The  writer,  the  pub- 
lisher, and  the  vender  of  such  productions  will  have  an  account  to 
render  in  this  world  to  an  outraged  community,  to  the  fathers  and 


MR.  aeeott's  report.  63 

mothers  around  them  whose  ruined  sons  and  daughters  are  the 
price  of  their  gains. 

THE    NEWSPAPER    PRESS. 

The  newspaper  and  periodical  press  was  then  the  subject  of  in- 
vestigation. In  1832  the  political  and  miscellaneous  newspapers 
of  the  country  numbered  about  1200.  In  1836  there  were  about 
1500.  In  the  two  States  of  New-York  and  Massachusetts  together, 
with  a  population  of  less  than  3,000,000,  there  were  published  a 
greater  number  of  newspapers  than  in  Great  Britain,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  more  than  25,000,000. 

The  five  New  England  States,  together  with  New- York  and 
Pennsylvania,  embracing  a  population  of  less  than  6,000,000,  is- 
sued more  than  750  newspapers,  nearly  as  many  as  in  all  Great 
Britain  and  France  united,  with  their  population  of  56,000,000. 
In  the  city  of  New- York,  30  out  of  the  40  newspaper  establish- 
ments circulated  annually  more  than  30,000,000  of  papers.  And 
estimating  the  entire  issues  from  that  city,  they  were  found  consi- 
derably  greater  than  those  in  the  whole  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain. 

Our  900  weekly,  40  serai- weekly,  14  tri-weekly,  and  more  than 
100  daily  papers,  allowing  to  each  a  subscription  list  of  only  1000 
copies,  made  a  grand  aggregate  of  nearly  100,000,000  of  sheets  a 
year  for  our  18,000,000  of  people. 

Great  Britain,  according  to  the  returns  of  the  stamp-cflice  in 
1836,  issued  less  than  37,000,000  for  her  25,000,000  of  population. 

Our  religious  newspapers  and  periodicals,  numbering  nearly 
100,  circulated  from  8,000,OGO  to  10,000,000  of  copies  a  year. 

Ninety  semi-monthly,  monthly,  and  quarterly  magazines  sent 
forth  annually  more  than  ninety  millions  of  pages.  A  million  of 
penny  papers  a  month  in  our  large  cities,  were  swelling  the^tide  of 
influence  from  the  daily  press.  Some  500  different  ballads  and 
songs,  floating  among  the  masses  that  form  the  substratum  of  so- 
ciety in  our  cities  and  seaboard  towns,  told  full  well  their  tale 
and  sufficiently  explained  why,  in  one  class  at  least  of  our  citi- 
zens, the  Sabbath  and  the  sanctuar}'-,  the  civil  laws  and  the  sanc- 
tions of  religion  impose  so  little  restraint  upon  the  passions  and 
vices  of  men. 

In  short,  it  was  perfectly  evident  from  the  statistics  collected, 
that  our  country  was  most  emphatically  distinguished  among  all 
nations  of  the  earth  in  the  extent  of  the  issues  and  the  all-pervad- 
ing influence  of  the  press. 


64  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

In  Europe,  with  a  population  of  227,000,000,  according  to  statis- 
tical tables  in  the  "  Annalesdes-Travaux"  of  the  Paris  Statistical 
Society,  drawn  up  by  M.  Balbi,  the  distinguished  geographer, 
there  were  reported  to  be  2100  periodical  publications.  And  in 
our  own  continent,  with  39,000,000  of  population,  there  were  2200. 

According  to  these  tables,  the  known  number  of  newspapers  and 
journals  issuing  for  the  900,000,000  of  the  population  of  the  world, 
was  4500,  of  which  nearly  one-half  were  appropriated  to  less  than 
40,000,000  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  own  continent. 

In  Asia  there  was  one  paper  for  every  14,000,000 
In  Africa,  .  T  .  .  .  5,000,000 
In  Europe,  .....      106,000 

In  America 40,000 

In  the  United  States,    ....        10,000 

From  whatever  point  the  subject  was  viewed,  the  extent  and  im- 
portance of  the  power  of  the  press  in  our  country  was  forced  upon 
the  mind.  Newspapers  and  periodicals  of  every  kind,  pamphlets, 
ballads  and  books  of  all  sorts,  were  evidently  distributed  among  all 
classes  of  our  people  with  a  profusion  unparalleled  in  any  other  coun- 
try or  age. 

From  2000  to  3000  editors,  together  with  a  large  corps  of  authors, 
compilers,  printers,  and  publishers,  connected  with  all  these  opera- 
tions, were  exerting  a  daily  and  almost  hourly  influence  over  the 
opinions,  the  principles,  and  the  conduct  of  a  nation,  with  which  it 
was  not  easy  to  find  any  thing  to  compare  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

THE    RELIGIOUS    PRESS. 

When  we  are  considering  the  inestimable  blessings  the  press  has 
conferred  upon  our  race,  and  upon  our  country,  there  is  danger  of  our 
looking  unduly  at  one  side  of  the  picture.  The  greatest  blessing  may 
be  made,  by  perversion,  the  greatest  curse.  We  contemplate  the 
history  of  the  press  during  about  forty  years  past — since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  Some  conception  is 
formed  of  the  14,000,000  of  Bibles  in  150  different  languages  ;  the 
mind  runs  over  the  operations  of  the  London  Tract  Society  and  of 
the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  and  of  other  kin- 
dred institutions  abroad  ;  we  glance  at  the  origin  of  Bible,  and  Tract, 
and  Sunday  School  Societies  here,  and  dwell  on  the  millions  of 
Bibles  and  Testaments,  and  religious  Books  and  Tracts  which  they 
have  distributed,  and  add  to  the  aggregate  the  multiplied  publications 
of  Christian  publishers,  who,  moved  by  the  fear  of  God  and  love  of 
man,  have  wielded  the  press  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  religion, 


MR.    ABBOTT  S   KEPORT.  65 

and  we  exult  in  the  gift  and  forget  its  perversion.  But  to  borrow  the 
figure  of  the  author  of  the  Paper  on  Unsanctified  Literature,  we  ought 
to  remember,  that  though  there  are  "  giants  "  wielding  the  press  in 
our  own  and  other  lands,  in  the  cause  of  God  and  man,  there  are 
more  giants  still  who  are  employing  ihe  same  mighty  engine  in  the 
service  of  another. 

While  this  blessed  Institution  that  has  called  us  together  to-day, 
Tias  been  circulating  its  2,000,000  of  Books,  and  60,000,000  Tracts, 
during  a  period  of  eighteen  years,  liow  many  millions  have  been  pour- 
ing forth  under  altogether  different  and  opposite  influences,  tending 
not  to  purify  and  bless  the  land,  but  to  corrupt  aad  destroy  it. 

A  memorial  to  our  general  Government,  presented  at  the  last  Ses- 
sion, stated  that  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  all  the  various 
departments  of  the  publishing  business  in  the  United  States,  was 
more  than  40,000,  of  whom  25,000  were  operative  printers  of  papers 
and  books  ;  that  the  amount  of  business  annually  done  was  more 
than  $27,000,000  ;  that  there  were  12,000,000  of  volumes  manufac- 
tured annually,  and  the  capital  invested  in  these  operations  was  more 
than  $15,000,000. 

How  comparatively  small,  then,  must  be  the  influence  of  the 
present  issues  of  this  Institution,  when  we  consider  the  gigantic  tide 
of  12,000,000  of  books,  3,000,000  of  numbers  of  periodicals,  and 
300,000,000  of  newspaper  sheets,  which,  according  to  this  memorial, 
are  annually  doing  their  work  in  moulding  the  minds  and  hearts,  and 
shaping  the  destinies  of  the  millions  of  our  countrymen. 

No  reflecting  mmd  can  contemplate  the  present  position  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  in  this  respect  alone,  without  a  full  conviction  that  it  is 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  nations  ;  that  we  live  in  an  era 
pregnant  with  great  events ;  that  the  press  has  for  us  as  yet  undevel- 
oped energies,  that  may  in  our  land,  as  it  has  already  in  others,  work 
reformation  or  revolution.  The  whole  land  is  a  vast  school.  The 
rail  car,  the  steamboat,  the  manufactory,  the  work-shop,  and  the 
farm-yard,  the  mines  of  the  Schuylkill  and  of  Galena,  are  ali 
schools.  The  printer  is  the  daily  teacher.  Cunard's  mail  to-day 
brings  the  "  latest"  from  London  and  Liverpool,  Paris  and  Canton  ; 
all  night  the  presses  of  New-York  and  Boston  groan  with  their 
labor,  and  to-morrow  the  car  and  the  steamer  are  bearing  every 
description  of  news,  and  of  moral  and  pernicious  influences  to- 
wards every  point  of  the  compass.  The  iron  horse,  whose  sinews 
are  steel,  and  whose  provender  is  fire,  "is  off"  for  Washington  and 
Buffalo,  St.  Louis,  and  New  Orleans.  His  unceasing  clatter  echoes 
among  our  hills  all  day,  and  his  fiery  train  illumines  our  valleys  at 


66  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

night.  In  less  time  than  it  once  took  to  go  from  London  to  John 
o' Groat's,  the  news  from  the  other  hemisphere  is  borne  over  one  half 
of  this.  The  mail-bag  with  its  teeming  sheets  is  dropped  in  every 
city  and  village  of  a  territory  1500  miles  square  !  The  columns  of  the 
*'  Chronicle,"  and  the  "  Times,"  which  are  read  at  Monday's  break- 
fast in  London,  have  but  one  intervening  Sabbath  before  they  enliven 
the  parlors  and  offices  of  Boston  and  New-York  ;  and  ere  the  Acadia 
sees  Holyhead  again,  they  are  1600  miles  further  on,  in  the  saloons 
and  verandahs  of  Louisiana. 

Everything  seems  to  conspire  to  arouse  and  excite  the  public  mind, 
and  reading  it  will  have. 

LIBRARIES    FOR    COMMON    SCHOOLS. 

The  school-library  system  furnishes  also  a  most  impressive  illustra- 
tion of  the  views  embodied  in  the  papers  before  your  Committee. 

Three  years  have  already  passed  of  the  operation  of  the  law  of  the 
state  of  New-York  appropriating  $110,000  a  year,  for  five  years,  to 
the  work  of  planting  a  popular  library  in  each  of  the  10,000  school- 
houses  of  the  State.  Something  like  i8300,000  have  been  expended, 
and  probably  more  than  a  million  of  volumes  are  already  distributed 
in  the  schools  of  New- York  alone  ;  and  perhaps  half  that  number  in 
other  parts  of  the  country  :  a  greater  work  in  bringing  books  before 
the  minds  of  the  present  and  rising  generation  than  this  Institution,  on 
its  existing  scale  of  operations,  performs  in  ten  years.  And  when  we 
consider  what  this  system  alone  is  destined  to  effect  in  ten  years  to 
come,  among  our  50,000  schools  and  3,000,000  of  children,  the  impor- 
tance of  the  views  in  the  paper  on  an  "  unsanctified  literature,"  and 
the  call  upon  the  wise  and  good  of  our  land  to  furnish  a  Christian 
Literature  in  its  comprehensive  and  appropriate  acceptation,  come 
upon  the  heart  with  an  emphasis  that  language  can  scarcely  describe. 
Millions  of  dollars  are  to  be  expended,  and  in  all  human  probability, 
in  less  time  than  has  elapsed  since  the  organization  of  this  Society,  a 
greater  number  of  volumes  will  be  manufactured  and  distributed 
among  the  common  schools  of  this  young  nation  than  are  now  found 
in  all  the  venerable  public  libraries  of  Europe  !  When  all  the  States 
of  the  Union  shall  follow  the  example  of  New -York,  as  several  have 
already  done,  this  grand  national  enterprise  will  command  attention 
which  it  has  not  yet  received.  The  character  of  these  books  that  are 
to  be  multiplied  by  millions,  and  perform  such  a  service  in  forming 
the  intellectual  aliment  and  the  moral  image  of  generation  after  gene- 
ration, will  be  a  subject  of  solicitous  inquiry  among  philanthropists 
and  christians. 


MR.  Abbott's  report.  67 

One  other  topic  in  the  paper  alluded  to  demands  a  word — the 
tendency  in  our  country  to  banish  from  the  elementary  books  and 
systems  of  popular  education  the  great  fundamental  truths  and  saving 
influences  of  Christianity.  To  some  extent  this  is  peculiar  to  us. 
It  is  not  so  in  other  states  of  Christendom.  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  Prussia,  Holland,  and  Rome,  pursue  a  different  policy.  The 
educational  discussions  of  other  lands  show  that  the  disciples  of 
Christ  are  contending  for  a  christian  education  for  their  children  and 
the  people,  with  the  firmness  of  a  conviction  that  it  is  a  requirement 
of  the  word  of  God. 

A  single  illustration  will  exhibit  sufficiently  the  intrinsic  importance 
of  this  subject,  while  at  the  same  time  it  sets  forth  and  corroborates 
the  views  of  the  paper  on  "  The*  Power  of  the  Press." 

If  it  were  told  us,  that  in  some  other  land  a  pen  had  been  employed 
in  the  preparation  of  a  book  which  was  to  be  first  in  the  hands  of  mil- 
lions of  youth,  developing  their  intellectual  powers,  kindling  their 
first  desires  after  knowledge,  storing  the  memory  with  thoughts  and 
fixing  principles  of  action,  with  all  the  povver  and  permanency  of  early 
impressions — that  its  apothegms  and  lessons  respecting  life  and  duty, 
time,  salvation,  and  eternity,  were  interwoven  into  the  very  constitu- 
tion of  the  plastic  minds  of  millions  ;  that  in  the  space  of  forty  years 
its  author  had  been  privileged  to  witness  18,000,000  of  copies  of  his 
work,  imprinting  its  own  moral  image  on  as  many  millions  of  youth, 
and  following  them  too,  with  almost  the  fidelity  of  maternal  counsel, 
through  all  the  scenes  of  life's  pilgrimage,  from  the  school-house  to 
ihe  grave  ;  we  should  quote  it  as  a  rare  and  wonderful  exemplifica- 
tion of  the  power  of  the  pen  and  the  press. 

But  an  American  spelling-book  has  done  all  this,  and  the  venerable 
Dr.  Noah  Webster  has  lived  to  see  of  the  fruits  of  his  pen,  what  we 
venture  to  say  few  writers  ever  have  before  him. 

This  subject  itself  is  a  theme  for  a  volume.  Is  there  any  other 
book  but  the  Bible  which  exerts  so  universal,  so  powerful  and  abidintr 
an  influence  on  each  generation  as  it  rises,  and  yet  how  little  re<Tard 
does  it  secure.  How  little  concern,  whether  it  be  made  a  vehicle  of 
truth,  a  standard  of  taste  and  of  morals,  and  a  teacher  in  every  hand 
of  "  whatsoever  things  are  pure  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report,"  and 
that  "  accompany  salvation."  The  school-house  stands  next  to  the 
church,  and  the  school-book  is  next  to  the  Bible  in  forming  the  cha- 
racter and  determining  the  temporal  destinies  of  our  country,  and  the 
eternal  interests  of  our  countrymen. 

In  1804  a  catalogue  was  published  in  Boston,  professing  to  contain 
all  the  school-books  previously  issued  in  the  United  States.    In  1832, 


6S  DELIBERATIVE   3IEETING. 

another  similar  catalogue  appeared.  In  an  interral  of  28  years  the 
total  number  of  school-books  increased  from  93  to  407,  while  our 
population  had  been  increasing  from  6.000,000  to  13,000,000.  And 
■when  this  investigation  of  the  state  of  the  press  was  made,  there  were 
found  on  sale  432  works  in  the  various  branches  of  Theological  litera- 
ture, 434  works  of  fiction,  and  736  works  on  education,  comprised  in 
51  distinct  branches  of  the  subject,  both  English  and  classical. 

It  would  seem  to  be  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  know  what  is  the 
real  influence  these  instruments  of  education  exert  on  the  minds  they 
are  employed  in  developing. 

The  destiny  of  our  country,  the  hopes  of  the  Church,  and  the 
prospect  of  the  world's  Redemption  are  concerned  in  the  influences 
which  are  forming  the  character  of  the  next  generation  ;  and  if  it  be 
true  that  our  Almighty  Maker  God  is,  as  it  were,  shut  out  from  the 
world  of  human  hearts,  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts,  is  excluded  from 
their  affections,  and  no  fitting  recognition  of  him  in  his  works  of  na- 
ture, providence,  or  grace  is  found  ;  how  important  it  is,  in  the  work  of 
bringing  mankind  back  to  God,  to  bring  God  in  to  the  world  of  litera- 
ture, science,  and  art,  and  to  incorporate  His  truth  in  all  the  essential 
elements  of  influence  that  move  and  mould  mankind. 

READING  FOR   THE   YOr>'G. 

"We  have  reason  to  thank  God  for  the  deep  interest  he  is  creatincp 
on  this  vast  and  important  subject,  and  especially  for  his  kind  provi- 
dence in  giving  to  our  country  such  papers  as  have  lately  appeared 
from  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools 
in  New-i'ork,  the  Hon.  Samuel  Young,  on  the  use  of  the  Xew  Tes- 
tament in  our  schools,  and  the  importance  of  inculcating  its  principles 
of  morality  with  the  first  lessons  of  childhood  ;  on  the  introduction  of 
vocal  music  as  a  branch  of  elementary  education  ;  and  on  the  subject 
of  a  purer  course  of  reading  for  our  youth. 

Mr.  Young  says  :  ''  I  regard  the  New  Testament  as  in  all  respects 
a  suitable  book  to  be  daily  read  in  our  Common  Schools,  and  I  earnest- 
ly recommend  its  general  introduction  for  this  purpose.  As  a  mere 
reading  book,  intended  to  convey  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  English 
language,  it  is  one  of  the  best  text-books  in  use  ;  but  this,  although 
of  great  utility  to  the  pupils,  is  of  minor  importance  when  the  moral 
influences  of  the  book  are  duly  considered.  Education  consists  of 
something  more  than  mere  instruction.  It  is  that  training  and  dis- 
cipline of  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  which  shall  systematically  and 
harmoniously  develope  the  future  man  for  usefulness  and  for  happiness 


MR.    ABBOTT  S    REPORT.  69 

in  sustaining  the  various  relations  of  life.  It  must  be  based  upon 
knowledge  and  virtue,  and  its  gradual  advancement  must  be  strictly- 
subordinated  to  those  cardinal  and  elementary  principles  of  morality 
which  are  nowhere  so  clearly,  distinctly,  and  beautifully  inculcated 
as  in  that  book  from  whence  we  all  derive  our  common  faith.  The 
nursery  and  family  fire-side  may  accomplish  much,  the  institutions  of 
religion  may  exert  a  pervading  influence  ;  but  what  is  commenced  in 
the  hallowed  sanctuary  of  the  domestic  circle,  and  periodically  incul- 
cated at  the  altar,  must  be  daily  and  hourly  recognized  in  the  Common 
Schools,  that  it  may  exert  an  ever-present  influence,  enter  into  and 
form  part  of  every  act  of  the  life,  and  become  thoroughly  incorporated 
with  the  rapidly  expanding  character.  The  same  incomparable  standard 
of  moral  virtue  and  excellence  which  is  expounded  from  the  pulpit  and 
the  altar,  and  which  is  daily  held  up  to  the  admiration  and  imitation  of 
the  family  circle,  should  also  be  reverently  kept  before  the  mind  and 
the  heart  in  the  daily  exercise  of  the  SchooV 

In  his  communication  on  the  subject  of  pernicious  fiction,  he 
remarks  :— "  I  am  not  opposed  to  the  placing  of  works  of  ima- 
gination, either  in  poetry  or  prose,  in  a  distinct  library,  after  it  is 
well  filled  with  useful  books  of  practical  knowledge.  Such  works, 
if  properly  selected,  may  be  not  only  entertaining  but  instructive' 
by  aflx)rding  correct  delineations  of  human  character.  But  to  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  young,  works  which  are  replete  with  recitals 
of  ferocity  and  bloodshed,  with  murders  and  daring  outrages, 
with  the  sanguinary  feats  of  banditti  and  robbers,  with  the  atroci- 
ties of  depraved  and  brutalized  v/retches  who  are  the  opprobrium 
of  God  and  man,  is,  in  my  judgment,  directly  calculated  to  blunt 
their  finer  sensibilities,  and  to  render  their  hearts  cold  and  cal- 
lous to  the  claims  of  humanity,  by  familiarizing  their  imagina- 
tions with  scenes  of  depravity  and  blood. 

"  I  am  also  decidedly  opposed  to  the  whole  class  of  high 
wrought  novels  and  romances.  They  inspire  superstitious  fears, 
delusive  hopes  and  morbid  sensibilities,  by  giving  false  and  subli- 
mated views  of  human  life.  In  short,  they  disguise  truth  and 
inculcate  falsehood," 

And  in  his  address  before  the  Convention  at  Utica,  he  recom- 
mends «  singing  "  as  "  a  very  efficient  branch  of  moral  and  intel- 
lectual training,"  and  speaks  of  having  been  a  delighted  witness 
of  its  power  over  "the  little  performers"  in  a  school  at  Albany, 
their  own  spirits  harmonizing  with  the  spirit  of  the  song,  "  as  ia 
reverential  tones"  they  sung  "the  power  and  goodness  of  the 
Creator,"  "  the  beauties  and  harmonies  of  the  moral  world,"  "  the 

5 


70  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING-. 

attractions  of  benevolence,"  "  the  obligations  of  patriotism,"  and 
"  the  captivating  loveliness  of  the  moral  virtues." 

To  such  sentiments  the  wisest  and  best  of  America  and  England 
M'ill  respond.  Let  them  be  reiterated.  Honor  to  him  whose  heart 
thus  cherishes  the  grand  interests  reposing  in  his  hands.  Blessed 
are  the  ten  thousand  schools,  and  more  than  half  a  million  of 
children  receiving  education  under  the  guidance  of  such  senti- 
ments. Happy  for  our  country,  that  such  are  the  views  of  one 
who  presides  over  the  educational  interests  of  a  State  which 
is  so  emphatically  taking  the  lead  among  all  her  sisters  in  this 
great  cause,  that  the  Superintendent  of  New- York  is  almost  the 
"  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  "  for  the  Union. 

There  are  other  topics  in  the  papers^  submitted  to  your  Committee, 
on  which  they  would  gladly  remark,  did  the  time  and  occasion  permit. 
The  various  points  that  are  treated,  speak  for  themselves.  Your 
Committee  would  simply  add  their  conviction,  that  the  calling  forth 
of  such  documents  will  alone  compensate  all  the  labors  connected 
with  this  Meeting,  were  no  other  good  accomplished.  They  hail  the 
call  for  a  sanctified  Literature  as  a  most  timely  and  providential  event, 
and  a  harbinger  of  better  days  for  our  country  and  the  Christian  world. 
And  they  would  respectfully  urge  the  immediate  employment  of  all 
the  undeveloped  resources  and  powers  of  this  Listitution,  and  every 
other  instrumentality  that  now  in  the  providence  of  God  exists,  or 
may  yet  be  called  into  being — not  directly  to  oppose  the  mighty  and 
resistless  torrent  that  flows  from  an  "  unsanctified  Press,"  but  to 
cause  to  flow,  side  by  side,  in  rich  abundance,  purer  streams,  that,  if 
it  be  possible,  the  thirstmg  spirit  of  the  millions  now  on  the  stage  in 
our  country,  and  the  stupendous  succession  of  generations  to  follow, 
may  be  allured  to  drink. 

Letter  from  Hon.  William  Jay,  Bedford,  N.  York. 

«'  Your  remarks  on  our  periodical  press  agree  perfectly  with  ray 
own  observations  and  reflections.  Almost  the  entire  reading  of  our 
whole  population  is  newspapers  and  fiction  ;  and  indeed  I  may  say 
fiction  alone,  since  truth  forms  so  small  a  portion  of  the  contents  of 
our  political  journals. 

"  The  indecency  of  many  of  the  novels  with  which  the  steam-press 
is  inundating  our  land,  and  the  profligacy  and  mendacity  of  our  party 
newspapers,  to  say  nothing  of  the  avowedly  obscene  publications, 
cannot  fail  to  influence  our  manners  and  our  morals.  The  evil  is 
rendered  more  grievous  by  the  difficulty  of  removing  it.  There  are 
no  coercive  measures  by  which  the  multitude  can  be  weaned  from 


ME.  Abbott's  report.  71 

their  love  for  low  excitement,  nor  the  mercenary  restrained  from 
catering  for  their  depraved  appetite.  The  obscene  press  might  in- 
deed be  instantly  put  down  by  our  magistrates  ;  but  they  are  for  the 
most  part  politicians. 

*'  I  greatly  fear  that  the  predominating  influence  of  our  press  is 
evil.  Even  our  religious  newspapers  too  often  exhibit  a  bitterness 
and  a  sectarian  selfishness  but  little  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
Christ. 

"  In  my  opinion  there  is  no  specific  remedy  for  the  profligacy  of  the 
press.  So  long  as  there  is  a  market  for  wicked  papers  and  novels,  so 
long  will  the  manufacture  of  these  commodities  be  continued. 

"  While  I  owe  you  my  acknowledgments  for  the  sentiments  you  so 
kindly  express  for  me  personally,  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  nothing 
I  could  write  on  the  subject  would  be  of  any  avail.  But  I  beg  you  to 
believe  that  I  shall  regard  it  a  privilege  and  a  duty  to  embrace  every 
proper  opportunity  of  advancing  the  interests  of  the  American  Tract 
Society.  It  is  a  truly  christian  Institution,  and  founded  on  principles 
and  conducted  in  a  spirit  I  peculiarly  love.  The  christians  of  this 
nation  might  exert  a  predominant  influence,  but  their  sectarianism 
prevents  concert  of  action,  and  their  devotion  to  party  politics  se- 
cures their  support  of  party  men,  however  irreligious." 

The  Rev.  William  R.  Williams,  D.  D.  of  New-Yorkj 
presented  the  following  valuable  paper:  viz. 


DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


DOCUMENT  V. 

The  Evangelical  Cliaracter  of  llie  Society's  Publications,  and 
their  adaptation  to  the  present  generation  of  men. 

The  various  publications  of  the  Society  in  our  own 
land,  if  we  include  its  issues  of  every  form  and  size, 
from  the  handbill  and  the  broad-sheet,  up  to  the  bound 
volume,  already  number  one  thousand.  In  foreign  lands 
it  aids  in  issuing  nearly  twice  that  number,  written  in 
some  one  hundred  of  the  different  languages  and  dialects 
of  the  earth.  Amongst  ourselves,  in  the  seventeen  years 
of  its  existence,  it  has  already,  by  .sale  or  gift,  scattered 
broad-cast  over  the  whole  face  of  the  land,  in  our  churches 
and  Sabbath-schools,  through  our  towns  and  villages, 
among  the  neglected,  in  the  lanes  of  our  large  cities, 
where  misery  retires  to  die,  and  vice  to  shelter  itself 
from  the  eye  of  day ;  and  amidst  the  destitute,  sparsely 
sprinkled  over  our  wide  frontiers,  \vhere  the  ministry 
has  scarce  followed,  and  the  church  can  scarce  gather 
the  scattered  inhabitants,  some  two  millions  of  books  and 
some  sixty  millions  of  Tracts.  This  is  no  ordinary  influ- 
ence. It  must  find  its  way  into  nearly  every  vein  and 
artery  of  the  body  politic.  Whether  it  be  of  a  pure  and 
healthful  character,  is  an  inquiry  of  grave  moment  to  the 
churches  who  sustain  this  enterprise,  and  to  the  country 
which  receives  this  literature.  If  baneful,  it  is  a  grievous 
wrong  to  the  community ;  if  merely  inert  and  useless,  it  is 
a  fraud  committed  upon  the  benevolence  of  the  churches. 

I.  Whether  these  publications^deserve  the  confidence  of 
christians,  may  be  ascertained  by  the  answer  which  is 
given  to  one  question:  Do  tiiey  preach  Jesus  Christ 


CHARACTER   OF  PUBLICATIONS.  73 

AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED?     He  must  be  the  theme  of  every 
successful  ministry,  whether  preaching  from  the  pulpit  or 
through  ;the  press.     The  blessing  of  God's  Spirit  is  pro- 
mised only  to  the  exaltation  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Sa- 
vior of  the  world.     "  I,   if  1  be  lifted  up,  Avill  draw  all 
men  unto  me."     When  Paul  describes  the  peculiarities  of 
his   own   successful   ministry — a   ministry  that  shook  the 
nations — a  ministry  that  carried   the  blazing  torch  of  its 
testimony  from  Illyricum  to-Spain,  he  compresses  these 
into  a  very  brief  space.     He  was  determined   to  know 
nothing  but  Christ  Jesus  and  him  crucified.     In   Christ 
he   found  the   m.otive    which    stimulated    all    his  fervid 
and  untiring  activity,  and  the   model  upon  w^hich  was 
moulded  every  excellence  of  his  character.     *'  To  m^e  to 
YiYQ  is  Christ."     Only  so  far  as  the  issues  of  this  Society 
cherish  this  same  principle  does  it  ask,  and  only  so  far 
can  it  deserve  from  the  churches  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
that  cordial  support  and  that  large  extension  of  its  la- 
bors which  it  solicits  at  the  hands  of  the  religious  com- 
munity. 

And  not  only  is  it  necessary  to  the  success  of  such 
ministry  of  the  press,  that  it  should  make  the  crucified 
Savior  the  great  theme  of  its  teachings;  it  should  also 
present  this  theme,  as  far  as  possible,  in  a  scriptural  man- 
ner. By  this  we  mean,  not  a  mere  iteration  of  the  words 
of  sacred  writ,  but  that  the  mind  of  the  writer  should  be 
so  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Scripture,  and  so  pos- 
sessed by  its  doctrines,  and  so  haunted  by  its  imagery  and 
illustrations,  as  to  present,  naturally  and  earnestly,  the 
great  truths  of  the  scheme  of  salvation,  in  that  proportion 
and  with  those  accompaniments  which  are  found  in  the 
inspired  volume.  His  thoughts  m.ust  all  be  habited,  as 
far  as  it  may  be,  iu  the  garb,  and  breathe  the  spirit  of  that 
only  book  to  which  we  can  ascribe  unmingled  truth. 

That  the  works  of  the  American  Tract  Society  are 
thus  evangelical  in  their  character,  would  seem  scarce 


74  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

needing  proof,  since  none,  as  far  as  we  know,  have  yet 
questioned  it.  Amid  the  fierce  and  embittered  contro- 
versies, from  which  the  church  has  never  been  exempt, 
(and  certainly  not  in  our  own  times,)  we  know  not  that 
any,  among  the  several  bodies  of  christians  generally 
recognized  as  evangelical,  have  arisen  to  impugn  in  this 
respect  the  character  of  the  Society's  issues.  This  has 
not  been  because  these  books  have  been  secretly  circu- 
lated. They  have  been  found  every  where,  dropped  in 
the  highway  and  lodged  in  the  pastor's  study,  distributed 
in  the  nursery,  the  rail-car,  the  steamboat,  and  the  stage- 
coach, as  well  as  exposed  on  the  shelves  of  the  book-store, 
and  they  have  challenged  the  investigation  of  all  into 
whose  hands  they  have  come.  Denominations  of  chris- 
tians, divided  from  each  other  by  varying  views  as  to  the 
discipline  and  polity  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  even 
holding  opposite  sentiments  as  to  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  have  yet  agreed  in  recog- 
nizing in  these  publications  the  great  paramount  truths  of 
that  Gospel,  and  have  co-operated  long,  liberally  and  har- 
moniously in  their  distribution  and  use. 

The  names  of  the  authors  whose  volumes  are  found 
in  friendly  juxtaposition,  standing  side  by  side  on  the 
shelves  of  the  libraries  the  Society  has  provided  for  the 
christian  household  and  school,  seem  to  furnish  another 
strong  pledge  to  the  same  effect.  Doddridge,  Baxter, 
Edwards,  Owen,  Fiavel  and  Bunyan,  are  names  that  seem 
to  belong  less  to  any  one  division  of  the  christian  host 
than  to  the  whole  family  of  Christ.  They  are  the  current 
coin  of  the  church,  which  have  passed  so  freely  from  hand 
to  hand,  that  the  minuter  superscription  of  the  sects  to 
which  they  may  have  belonged^  the  denominational  im- 
print, seems  to  have  been  worn  away  in  the  wide,  un- 
que.stioned  circulation  they  have  received.  And  they 
have  been  acknowledged  by  evangelical  believer?,  where- 
ever  the  English  language  and  literature  have  gone,  as  faith- 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  75 

ful  and  most  powerful  preachers  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
They  have  received  higher  attestation  even  than  that  of 
having  their  "praise"  thus  ''in  all  the  churches."  The 
Head  of  the  Church  has  not  withholdcn  his  benediction 
and  imprint.  The  influence  of  His  Spirit  has  long  and 
largely  rested  on  the  written  labors  of  these  his  servants ; 
and,  while  the  authors  themselves  have  been  in  the  grave, 
their  works  are  vet  followino-  them  in  leno^theninof  and 
widening  trains  of  usefulness.  Multitudes  have  been  con- 
verted, and  thousands  of  others  have  traced  to  these  books 
their  own  growth  in  christian  holiness.  Some  of  these  wri- 
ters were,  while  upon  the  earth,  not  inactive  or  unsuccessful 
as  preachers  Vv'ilh  the  living  voice ;  yet  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  all  the  seals  of  their  living  ministry  would  equal 
the  tithe  of  the  seals  which  God  has  continued  to  set  to 
their  posthumous  ministry  in  the  volumes  they  have  be- 
queathed to  the  world  and  the  church. 

II.  But  how  far  are  they  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 

PRESENT  GENERATION  OF  MANKIND?       We  kuOW   that  in 

the  varying  tastes  and  habits  of  society,  and  its  ever-shift- 
ing currents  of  feelinq',  new  channels  of  thought  are 
scooped  out,  and  new  forms  of  expression  become  popular ; 
and  the  writer  whose  compositions  present  not  these  forms 
and  move  not  in  these  channels,  may  find  himself  deserted 
as  obsolete.  His  works  are  consigned  to  the  unmolested 
and  dusty  shelves  of  the  antiquarian,  while  other  and 
fresher  rivals  grasp  the  sceptre  of  popularity  and  useful- 
ness that  has  passed  from  his  hands.  New  conditions  of 
society  and  new  institutions  also,  may  require  another 
style  of  address  and  another  train  of  instruction  than  those 
which,  once  indeed,  were  most  salutary  and  seasonable, 
but  are  so  no  longer.  If  other  classes  of  literature  be- 
come antiquated,  and  the  old  give  place  to  the  new,  may  it 
not  be  so  with  religious  literature ;  may  it  not  be  so 
with  much  of  the  literature  from  which  the  American 
Tract  Society  is  seeking  to  supply  the  christians  of  the 
present  age  ? 


76  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

1.  What  then  are  the  ivants  of  tht  present  age?  Re- 
ligion, it  should  be  reniembered,  if  true,  must  be  in  its 
great  principles  unchangeable,  and  the  same  in  all  eras  of 
the  world's  history. 

"  Can  length  of  years  on  God  himself  exact, 

"  And  make  that  fiction  which  was  once  a  fact?' 

A  revelation,  from  its  source  and  the  nature  of  its  con- 
tents, possesses,  therefore,  a  fixedness  and  constancy  that 
can  belong  to  no  science  of  merely  human  origin.  The 
Bible  stands  apart  from  all  the  literature  of  man's  devi- 
sing, as  a  book  never  to  be  superseded — susceptible  of  no 
amendment,  and  never  to  be  made  obsolete  whilst  the 
world  stands.  The  book  of  the  world's  Creator  and  the 
world's  Governor,  the  record  of  the  world's  history  and 
the  world's  duty,  the  world's  sin  and  the  world's  salvation, 
it  will  endure  while  that  world  lasts,  and  continue  to 
claim  its  present  authority  long  as  that  government  over 
the  present  world  may  continue.  Religious  works,  there- 
fore, the  more  profoundly  they  are  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Bible,  will  the  more  nearly  partake  of  its  indestruc- 
tibility. Hence  the  Confessions  of  Augustine,  written  so 
many  centuries  ago,  are  not  yet  an  obsolete  book,  nor  can 
be  while  the  human  heart  and  the  christian  religion  con- 
tinue the  same  that  they  now  are.  In  their  religious 
literature,  the  church  and  the  world  in  the  nineteenth 
century  must,  therefore,  in  most  respects,  have  the  same 
wants  as  the  church  and  the  world  in  earlier  ages. 

It  will  be  allowed,  however,  that  there  are  certain  pecu- 
liarities in  the  history  and  character  of  an  age  that  may 
make  one  form  of  address  and  one  style  of  discussion  much 
more  useful  and  reasonable  in  its  religious  literature  than 
another.  Has  our  country  at  this  period  any  such  pecu- 
liar wants?  We  might  refer  to  many  circumstances  in 
its  government  and  its  people,  their  pursuits  and  their 
character,  which  distinguish  and,  as  it  were,  individualize 
our  land  and  our  age.     But  to  sum  them  all  in  one  word, 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  77 

we  suppose  the  main  distinction  and  boast  of  our  people  is, 
that  they  are  ^x 'practical  race.  Others  theorize,  they  act. 
Visionary  reforms  and  schemes  of  society,  that  might  in 
other  regions  be  nnrsed  for  centuries  in  the  brains  of 
philosophers,  and  be  deemed  practicable  onjy  because 
they  have  never  been  reduced  to  practice,  if  they  find  pro- 
selytes amongst  us,  are  soon  brought  to  the  test  of  actual 
experiment;  their  admirers  here  act  upon  the  theories, 
which,  elsevv^here,  are  but  reasoned  upon,  and  the  system, 
exploding  in  the  trial,  refutes  itself.  Our  countrymen, 
the  colonists  of  a  wide  and  fertile  territory,  the  mariners 
whose  keels  vex  every  shore,  and  whose  sails  whiten  the 
remotest  seas,  inherit  the  solid  sense,  the  sober  judgment, 
the  energy,  daring,  and  perseverance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race:  and  their  political  institutions  and  the  broad  terri- 
tory yet  to  be  subdued  and  peopled,  here  give  full  scope 
to  these  traits  of  character.  We  are  as  yet,  though  a 
nation  of  readers,  not  a  nation  of  students  ;  but  much  more 
a  nation  of  seamen,  farmers  and  traders.  Our  very  stu- 
dies are  practical ;  and  the  cast  of  character  which  dis- 
tinguished the  Roman  from  the  Greek  mind,  and  which 
made  the  former  the  masters  of  the  world — the  practical 
character  of  the  mind  and  its  pursuits — belongs,  in  all 
climes  and  on  every  shore,  to  the  Saxon  race.  If  we,  as 
a  nation,  have  in  this  era  of  our  history  specific  wants,  we 
want  then  a  practical  literature  in  religion,  as  in  other 
branches  of  knowledge — a  religious  literature,  adapted, 
with  practical  v/isdom,  to  the  peculiar  duties  and  snares, 
the  prevalent  errors  and  the  popular  institutions  of  our 
time.     Has  this  Society  furnished  such  ? 

That  portion  of  its  publications  which  are  of  Am.erican 
origin,  and  which  its  exertions  have  been  the  means  of 
calling  out,  or  of  diffusing  more  widely  where  they  already 
existed,_all  its  books  that  are  of  recent  and  domestic  origin, 
may  be  supposed  naturally  to  possess  some  tolerable 
degree  of  adaptation  to  our  own  national  wants,  the  pre- 

5* 


78  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

vailing  sins  and  follies  of  the  times.,  and  the  peculiar  re- 
sponsibilities and  privileges  of  christian  churches  in  the 
United  States,  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  writers  are 
of  us  and  wrote  for  us,  and  we  may  suppose  that  these 
productions  at  least  are  not  wanting  in  such  adapta- 
tion. Their  currency  and  their  usefulness,  the  souls 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  they  have  converted,  and 
their  influence  on  the  faith,  zeal,  and  purity  of  the  churches, 
afford  evidence  of  the  same  kind.  Of  the  430  pamphlet 
Tracts  in  the  English  language,  issued  by  the  Society, 
more  than  one  half  are  of  American  origin.  It  was  not 
so  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Society's  history.  Of  the  first 
one  hundred  Tracts  on  the  lists  of  this  Society,  more  than 
two  thirds  were  republications  from  works  of  British 
christians,  of  the  richest  character  indeed,  but  they  were 
the  siftings  of  a  rich  religious  literature  more  than  two 
centuries  old.  Of  the  last  one  hundred  of  these  430  Tracts, 
on  the  other  hand,  more  than  three  fourths  were  by 
American  christians.  We  have  not  pursued  the  investi- 
gation into  the  bound  volumes  of  the  Society ;  but  we 
suppose  that  there  a  similar  result  would  be  reached, 
although  the  proportion  of  American  authorship  is  not 
yet  as  large,  perhaps,  as  in  the  pamphlet  Tracts.  Here 
also  it  is  increasing,  however,  and  one  third  of  the  vol- 
umes may  be  regarded  as  of  domestic  origin.  It  would 
be  found,  we  suppose,  that  the  Society,  in  the  brief  period 
of  seventeen  years,  has  done  much  to  create  a  national 
religious  literature. 

To  effect  any  literary  changes,  seventeen  years,  it 
should  be  remembered,  is  a  very  brief  period.  As  far 
then  as  adaptedness  to  the  special  wants  of  this  country 
can  be  decided  by  the  domestic  or  foreign  authorship  of 
its  publications,  it  would  appear  that  the  Society  has,  with 
great  rapidity,  exerted  a  most  perceptible  and  powerful 
influence  on  the  writers  and  readers  of  our  churches.  It 
has  elicited  and  diffused  a- literature  that  is  emphatically 


CHARACTER   OF    PUBLICATIONS.  70 

for  US,  inasmuch  as  it  is  from  ourselves.  The  intelligent 
christian  can  never  wish  to  see  his  denomination  or  his 
country  confining  its  sympathies  and  its  studies  to  the 
literature  of  the  sect  itself,  or  of  that  one  country,  thus 
shut  up  in  the  narrow  circle  of  its  own  writers,  Christi- 
anity is  free,  genial  and  philanthropic — it  loves  the  race. 
Christianity  is  the  only  true  citizenship  of  the  world,  and 
it  hails  the  writings  and  the  history  of  all  lands  and  all 
kindreds,  when  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  common 
Savior.  But  yet  there  may  be  certain  evident  advantages 
in  having,  for  some  purposes  and  within  certain  limits,  a 
denominational  and  also  a  national  literature  in  our 
churches.  For  this  object  of  a  national  literature  the 
American  Tract  Society  may  claim  to  have  done  much, 
and  to  have  done  it  well.  They  have  furnished  a  body  of 
Tracts,  popular  in  style,  pungent  and  faithful,  pithy,  brief, 
and  striking,  that  are  singularly  adapted  to  the  moral 
wants  of  our  community,  and  many  of  which,  from  their 
high  excellence,  would  bear  transplantation  into  the 
literature  of  almost  any  other  christian  country. 

2  As  to  the  adaptedness  for  usefulness  amongst  our 
churclies  and  people  of  those  volumes  and  Tracts  which 
the  Society  has  derived  from  the  rich  christian  literature 
of  Great  Britain,  it  may  be  deserving  of  remark  that  the 
more  distinguished  of  these  works  are  derived  mainly 
frotn  three  memorable  eras  in  the  religious  history  of  that 
country. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  age  of  the  Puritans  and  Non- 
conformists.  Into  the  merits  of  their  controversy  with  the 
Established  Church  of  England  it  is  no  part  of  our  design 
here  to  enter.  They  were,  by  the  admission  of  the  candid 
m  every  party,  men  of  powerful  intellect  and  ardent  piety, 
whose  principles  had  been  tried  and  strengthened  in  the 
fierce  collisions  of  their  age,  and  whose  character  received 
in  consequence  an  energy  it  might  else  have  wanted. 
The  measures  of  government,  that  threw   the  Noncon- 


80  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

formists  out  of  their  pulpits,  were  fitted  to  produce  an 
admirable  class  of  writings,  such  as  the  church  has  not 
often  enjoyed.  Many  of  these  devout  men,  mighty  in  the 
Scriptures  and  incessant  in  prayer,  had  they  been  left  to  the 
quiet  discharge  of  their  pastoral  duties,  would  have  kept 
the  noiseless  tenor  of  their  way,  and  the  world  would 
probably  have  heard  little  or  nought  of  their  authorship. 
Preaching  would  have  absorbed  their  minds  and  consumed 
all  their  strength.  The  mere  preacher  has  little  leisure  and 
often  little  fitness  to  be  a  successful  writer.  Thus  the  pub- 
lished remains  of  Whitfield  are  of  little  value  compared  w^ith 
the  writings  of  many  men  far  his  inferiors  in  the  pulpit 
and  in  its  immediate  results  of  usefulness.  Had  then  the 
edicts  and  policy  of  the  Stuarts  left  the  Nonconformist  fa- 
thers to  their  own  chosen  course,  they  would,  many  of  them, 
have  died  and  bequeathed  no  literary  remains ;  or  those  re- 
mains would  have  been  comparatively  meagre  and  jejune, 
from  the  want  of  leisure  in  a  life  of  active  and  unremitted 
pastoral  toil.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  had  the  rich  and 
varied  writings  of  that  class  of  men,  who,  from  the  prison 
or  beside  its  very  gate,  sent  out  their  treatises  to  their 
peeled  and  scattered  churches,  been  composed  by  mere 
students,  men  of  the  lamp  and  the  closet,  they  would  have 
been  deficient  in  their  popular  style,  their  earnestness, 
and  their  apt  familiar  illustrations.  None  but  pastors, 
acquainted  with  the  people  and  familiar  with  the  popular 
modes  of  communicating  religious  truth,  could  thus  have 
informed  the  deepest  truths  of  theology  and  morals  with  a 
racy  vivacity,  and  surrounded  them  with  such  simple  and 
every-day  imagery. 

Thus,  only  men  who  had  been  bred  pastors  could  have 
written  some  of  these  works.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
had  they  continued  pastors,  they  could  not  have  written 
them  for  want  of  leisure,  inclination,  and  even  perhaps 
mental  power.  But  when  the  prison  and  the  pillory  shut 
them  in,  and  the  pulpit  had  shut  them  out,  these  resolute 


CHARACTER   OF   PUBLICATIONS.  81 

and  holy  men  resorted  to  the  only  channel  left  them  for 
comniunicatino;  with  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 
It  was  the  press.  Had  Baxter  been  a  mere  student  and 
not  a  pastor,  he  would  probably  have  made  all  his  writings 
thorny,  abstruse,  and  sterile,  as  the  works  of  those  school- 
men whose  writings  he  seems  so  fondly  to  have  loved  and 
studied  so  closely.  And,  in  that  case,  where  had  been  the 
usefulness  of  the  Saints'  Rest  and  the  Call  to  the  Uncon- 
verted? Had  he  continued  always  a  pastor,  he  would 
have  preached  much  more  to  the  men  of  the  17th  century; 
but  it  is  very  questionable  whether  he  would  have 
preached  as  well  or  as  much  to  the  men  of  the  19th  cen- 
tury as  he  now  does.  Here  then  is  a  class  of  writers,  in 
whose  history  God  seems  to  have  made  special  provision 
that  they  should  be  trained  to  become  edective  as  the 
practical  writers  of  the  church,  bringing  to  the  experience 
of  the  pastor  all  the  leisure  of  the  scholar,  and  grafting 
upon  the  meditations  of  the  study  all  the  unction,  the  sim- 
plicity, and  the  popular  tact  of  the  pulpit. 

In  addition  to  these  peculiar  preparations  for  general 
usefulness,  the  writings  of  the  Puritans  and  Nonconform- 
ists come  to  us,  as  Americans,  commended  by  considera- 
tions of  singular  force.  The  fathers  of  New-England 
were  of  that  class  of  men.  The  Adam  and  Eve  of  those 
regions  were  fashioned  of  Puritan  clay ;  and  many  of 
our  peculiar  institutions  and  our  distinctive  traits  of  nation- 
al character  m.ay  be  traced,  through  that  New-England 
ancestry,  to  the  character  of  the  Puritans  of  England. 
We  have  a  hereditary  right  in  their  works  and  memory. 
Their  writings  are  moulded  by  peculiar  influences,  that 
have  yet  left  their  traces  upon  our  mental  idiosyncrasy  as 
a  people.  Connected  as  then  the  Puritans  of  the  mother 
country  were  with  our  progenitors  by  every  tie  of  piety 
and  blood,  their  voice  comes  upon  the  ears  of  American 
christians  like  a  testimony  from  the  graves  of  those  re- 
vered forefathers,  who  planted  upon  our  rugged  northern 


82  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

shores  the  germs  of  our  freedom,  our  knowledge,  and  our 
arts,  while  seeking  only  in  the  desert  a  refuge  from  per- 
secution, and  freedom  to  worship  God ;  but  Avho  left, 
where  they  sought  merely  a  shelter,  the  foundations  of  a 
new  empire,  stretching  its  territories  already  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  shedding  the  influence  of  its 
commerce  and  its  freedom  over  either  continent. 

The  second  of  these  eras,  which  have  contributed  to  the 
christian  literature  of  this  Society,  is  that  o{  the  great  re- 
vival of  religion,  under  the  labors  of  Whitfield  and  the 
Wesleys  in  England,  and  the  elder  Edwards  and  the 
^Feiuiants  in  our  own  country.  It  was  a  great  religious 
movement,  awakening  from  lethargy  and  recalling  from 
perilous  errors  a  portion  of  the  English  Establishment, 
infusing  a  new  life  of  piety  into  the  English  Dissenteis, 
as  in  our  own  country  it  supplied  the  destitute  and 
awakened  the  fornial  from  Georgia  to  New-Hampshire. 
It  was  an  era,  both  here  and  in  the  parent  country,  of 
bitter  controversy.  The  truths,  recalled  from  their  long 
concealment  and  urged  with  new  zeal,  were  to  be  defend- 
ed from  the  press  as  w^ell  as  from  the  pulpit,  or  the 
open  field,  v.here  so  many  of  those  preachers  delivered 
their  testimony.  To  this  day  it  is  that  we  owe  the  works 
of  Doddridge  and  Edwards,  that  work  of  Venn  which  the 
Society  has  very  recently  republished,  and  the  memoir  of 
Edwards'  disciple  and  friend,  the  glowing,  suffering 
David  Brainerd.  In  the  necessities  of  that  time  we  see, 
though  to  a  less  extent,  a  combination  of  the  same  causes 
which  made  the  Nonconformists'  writings  what  they 
were.  The  preacher  was  grafted  on  the  student.  Had 
not  Edwards  had  the  experience  of  those  glorious  revivals 
God  permitted  him  to  witness  and  to  record,  he  could 
perhaps  still  have  written  the  work  "  On  the  Religious 
Affections  ;"  but  it  would  have  been  a  very  different  book. 
Without  the  resources  of  his  rich  pastoral  experience  it 
might  have  been  as  profound  as  the  immortal  Analogy  of 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIOIn'S.  83 

Butler,  and  as  little  fitted  as  that  work   to  be  generally 
popular  with  the  great  mass  of  readers. 

The  third  of  these  memorable  eras  may  be  designated 
as  the  era  of  modern  christian  enterprise.  We  know  no 
fitter  epithet  to  describe  its  varied  activity,  and  its  aggres- 
sive action  on  the  ignorance  of  nominal  Christendom  and 
the  wide  wastes  of  heathenism.  It  began  shortly  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  French  Revolution.  It  was  an  age 
when  God  seemed  for  a  time  to  allow  a  new  "  hour  and 
fovjer  of  darhness,^^  Rkm  to  that  which  brooded  over  the 
world  when  its  Redeemer  was  about  to  suffer.  Then  boil- 
ed up  from  the  lower  deeps  of  the  human  heart  floods  of 
corruption,  that,  in  ordinary  ages,  slumber  on,  dark  and 
unseen,  in  their  quiet  concealment.  Then  steamed  up, 
as  it  were  from  the  nethermost  abysses  of  hell,  strange 
and  hideous  errors,  that  generally  avoid  the  light  of  day, 
and  the  world  was  aghast  at  the  open  appearance  of  athe- 
ism, and  the  rejection  by  a  great  nation,  as  in  mass,  of 
their  old  ancestral  faith.  But,  as  if  to  illustrate  his  own 
government  of  the  universe,  then,  to  meet  this  revolt,  rose 
up,  from  quarters  the  most  distant,  and  some  of  them  the 
most  obscure,  designs  for  good  and  enterprises  of  benevo- 
lence, of  which  the  world  had  long  seen  no  parallel. 
The  Foreign  Missions  of  the  christian  church,  the  Sab- 
bath-School, the  Tract  Society  itself,  and  the  Bible  Society, 
burst  up,  as  in  quick  succession,  and  ere  the  carnival  of  the 
pit  was  ended,  and  while  Satan  seemed  yet  triumphing  in 
his  anticipated  conquest  of  the  world  to  impiety,  the  chris- 
tian faith  received  a  fresh  impulse,  and  the  cause  of  the  Sa- 
vior assumed  an  aggressive  energy  it  has  never  since  lost. 
To  this  period  belonged  Buchanan  and  Pearce.  In  this 
period  Wilberforce  published  that  View  of  Religion  in 
the  higher  classes,  which  was,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
commentator  Scott,  the  noblest  protest  in  favor  of  the 
gospel  made  for  centuries — a  book  that  consoled  and  de- 
lighted that  eminent  statesman  Burke  on  his  dying  bed, 


84  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

and  that  gave  to  the  Church  of  Christ  the  lamented  and 
beloved  author  of  that  immortal  Tract  "  the  Dairyman's 
Daughter,"  Legh  Richmond.  Pelted  by  Parr  with 
learned  Greek,  and  assailed  by  the  Socinian  Belsham,  it 
went  on  unimpeded  and  did  its  work.  Its  influence  was 
most  decisive,  under  God,  in  aiding  the  great  work  of 
reform,  the  effects  of  which  are  visible  in  the  middle  and 
higher  classes  of  England.  Then,  too,  wrote  and  labored 
Hannah  More,  and  to  the  same  period  may  be  added 
Henry  Martyn. 

All  these  three  were  periods  of  conflict.  In  the  first 
and  in  the  third,  political  contentions  were  intermingled 
with  religious  controversies.  Wars  and  rumors  of  wars 
exasperated  the  fierce  collisions  between  rival  sects,  or 
the  strife  that  was  waged  between  Christianity  and  those 
who  cast  off  all  fear,  and  mocked  to  his  face  their  Maker 
and  Judge.  The  second  was  indeed  exclusively  a 
Tperiod  o^ religious  coutroxevsy;  but  the  points  at  issue 
were  so  momentous,  and  the  zeal  exhibited  so  ardent, 
that  Eno^Iand  and  America  were  filled  with  the  noise  of 
Inquiry  and  dispute,  as  the  Gospel  went  on  winning 
new  and  glorious  triumphs  amid  fierce  oj^position. 
There  was,  as  in  the  apostolic  history,  a  wide  door 
opened,  and  there  were  also  *'  many  opposers,"  and  both 
Whitfield  and  Wesley  were  more  than  once,  in 
christian  Britain,  on  the  eve  of  a  summary  and  ferocious 
martyrdom. 

All  these  three  eras  were  then  eras  of  moral  revolution. 
It  is  a  familiar  fact  that  revolutions  produce  great  charac- 
ters. Their  great  emergencies  awaken  feeling  and  de- 
velop talent.  Some  mighty  crisis  paralyzes  the  weaker 
crowd,  and  summons  forth  the  master  spirit  who  can  meet 
its  demands,  and  reveals  thus  to  the  world  his  merits  and 
his  powers.  And  it  is  also  true,  that,  although  the  highest 
works  of  science  do  not  issue  from  such  times,  the  most 
stirring  and  popular  books  areoften  the  progeny  of  such 


CHARACTER  OF   PUBLICATIONS.  85 

an  age  of  turmoil  and  conflict.  These  orgasms  of  feeling, 
that  shoot  through  the  whole  frame  of  a  nation,  may  bring 
out  much  that  is  crude  and  extravagant,  but  they  also  lead 
to  exertions  of  more  than  wonted  power,  and  results  of 
more  than  vulgar  splendor.  The  best  efforts  of  the  best 
writers  are  sometimes  traceable  to  the  excitement  of 
some  such  stirring  era.  Pascal's  Provincial  Letters, 
in  which  wit,  argument,  and  eloquence  are  so  splendidly 
blended,  and,  leaning  on  each  other,  group  themselves 
around  the  cross  of  Christ,  could  not  have  been  pro- 
duced in  the  holiday  leisure  of  some  peaceful  era.  It 
needed  the  fierce  controversies  in  which  Jansenism  lay 
bleeding  under  the  feet  of  triumphant  Jesuitism,  and 
struggling  as  for  its  life,  while  it  testified,  as  from  the 
dust,  in  behalf  of  many  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel 
— it  needed,  w^e  say,  such  a  conflict  and  such  a  peril  to 
draw  out  a  production  so  impassioned  and  so  powerful 
evenTrom  the  mighty  heart  and  the  massive  intellect  of 
a  Pascal. 

There  are  works  that  seemingly  can  exist  only  as  the 
birth  of  the  throes  and  death  pangs  of  some  great  era 
of  change  and  moral  renovation.  Such  were  the  three 
eras  to  which  we  have  alluded,  and  their  character  was 
imprinted  on  many  of  the  works  they  produced,  and 
which  this  Society  reprints  and  disseminates.  No  other 
age,  no  lighter  emergency  could  have  called  forth  such 
intellectual  strength  and  such  depth  of  feeling,  and 
made  the  volumes  so  well  fitted  as  they  are  to  tell  upon 
the  heart  of  an  entire  nation.  Works  then  written  have  the 
energy  of  the  conflict  and  breathe. for  ever  its  strong  pas- 
ions.  Their  words  are  often  battles.  Had  Bunyan  never 
inhabited  a  dungeon^  we  question  whether  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  would  have  had  its  beautiful  pictures  of  the 
Land  of  Beulah,  aland  of  freedom,  light  and  beauty,  and 
we  doubt  whether  that  allegory  had  ever  existed.  Had 
Baxter   never  been  an   army-chaplain,   who   must   talk 


/ 


86  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Strong  truths  in  plain  terms,  we  question  whether  his 
works  would  have  had  all  their  passionate  energy  and 
their  strong  simplicity. 

With  regard,  therefore,  to  those  portions  of  the  Soci- 
ety's publications  which  proceed  from  American  authors, 
their  origin  is  some  evidence  in  favor  of  their  adapted- 
ness  to  our  peculiar  wants.  With  regard  to  all  those 
works  of  British  origin  that  came  from  either  of  the 
great  eras  upon  which  we  have  remarked,  we  have  in 
favor  of  their  influence  not  only  the  character  of  the 
writers,  but  the  character  of  the  age  in  which  they  wrote 
and  did  battle  for  the  truth  of  God  as  they  believed  it. 

Taking  now  the  literature  of  the  Society,  as  prepared 
for  this  country  in  mass,  we  find  in  it  evidently  a  variety 
and  fulness  of  subjects  that  would  seem  to  meet  the  va- 
ried demands  of  the  church  and  the  nation.  For  mission- 
ary literature,  it  has  the  memoirs  of  Brainerd,  Buchanan, 
Schwartz,  Henry  Martyn,  and  Harriet  Winslow.  Does  a 
pafjtor  seek  to  train  his  flock  to  higher  devotedness, 
where  could  be  found  a  better  manual  than  Baxter's 
Saints'  Everlasting  Rest,  written,  as  it  would  seem, 
under  the  golden  sky  of  the  Delectable  Mountains,  and 
in  full  sight  of  the  Celestial  City  1  Where  better  com- 
panions than  the  biographies  of  Leighton,  and  Payson, 
and  Pearce,  and  J.  Brainerd  Taylor  1  Against  infidelity 
we  have  Bogue,  (the  work  that  was  read,  and  with 
some  considerable  impressions  of  mind,  by  Napoleon 
in  his  last  days,)  and  Morison,  and  Keith,  and  the  trea- 
tises of  Leslie  and  Watson,  while  others,  on  the  same 
subject  of  Christian  Evidences,  commend  themselves  as 
the  works  of  writers  who  were  themselves  recovered 
from  infidelity,  as  the  writings  of  Lyttleton,  West, 
Jenyns,  and  our  countryman  Nelson.  There  is  provi- 
sion for  every  age — for  the  child,  the  Society  has  fur- 
nished the  touching  biographies  of  Nathan  Dicker- 
man,  John  Mooney  Mead,  and  Mary  Lothrop,  with  the 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  87 

juvenile  works  of  CTallaudet,  and  some  of  those  by 
the  Abbotts.  For  those  who  love  profound  thought 
it  has  poster,  and  for  the  lovers  of  brilliant  imagina- 
tion and  glowing  eloquence,  the  German  Krummacher. 
Of  the  Nonconformists  and  of  the  cotemporaries  of  Ed- 
wards we  have  already  spoken.  Few  writers  of  our 
time  have  caught  so  successfully,  on  some  pages,  the 
spirit  of  Baxter  as  J.  G.  Pike,  three  of  whose  works 
the  Society  republishes.  As  models  of  usefulness  in 
the  various  walks  of  life,  and  in  either  sex,  we  have 
the  biographies  of  Normand  Smith,  the  example  of  the 
christian  tradesman;  and  of  Harlan  Page,  the  private 
church  member  laboring  for  souls  ;  of  Kilpin,  of  Hannah 
Hobbie,  and  of  Caroline  Hyde.  The  child  just  tottering 
from  its  cradle  is  met  by  the  Society  with  the  half- cent 
Scripture  Alphabet,  while,  for  the  last  stages  of  human  life, 
they  have  Burder's  Sermons  to  the  Aged,  printed  in  type 
that  suits  it,  for  the  dimmer  eyes  of  old  age.  Furnished 
at  every  variety  of  price,  and  in  every  form  and  size,  as 
are  the  Tracts  of  the  Society,  the  christian  traveller  who 
would  scatter  the  seed  of  truth  as  he  journey,  and  the 
christian  father  who  would  furnish  his  children  with  a 
library  of  devout  and  wise  authors  ;  the  christian  minister 
who  would  train  himself  and  others  to  higher  devotedness 
and  usefulness ;  the  christian  mother  desiring  aid  to 
order  her  youthful  charge  aright,  and  the  young  disciple 
requiring  a  guide  to  the  formation  of  a  character  of  in- 
telligent and  consistent  piety — all  find  their  wants  met. 
Against  Romanism  and  intemperance  the  Society  have 
furnished  a  quiver  of  polished  arrows  in  their  bound 
volumes  of  Tracts  on  each  subject,  in  addition  to  the 
separate  volume  of  Beecher  on  the  one,  and  of  the  la- 
mented Nevins  on  the  other.  They  have  Mason's 
Spiritual  Treasury  for  the  family  altar  and  the  closet ; 
and  for  the  pilgrim  gathering  up  his  feet  into  his  couch 
to  die,  they  have  the  Dying  Thoughts  of  Baxter.     They 


SS  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

leave  behind,  after  the  funeral  ceremony  has  been  per- 
formed, the  Manual  of  Christian  Consolation  by  Flavel 
the  Nonconformist,  and  Cecil  the  Churchman.  They  in- 
sruct  the  active  christian  with  Cotton  Mather's  "Essays 
to  do  Good,"  the  book  that  won  the  praise  and  aided  to 
form  the  usefulness  of  our  ov/n  Franklin.  They  assail 
the  covetous  and  hard-handed  professor  with  the  burning 
energy  and  eloquence  of  Harris'  Mammon.  But  the  time 
fails  to  review  separately  all  the  varied  themes  of  their 
publications  and  the  varied  channels  through  which  they 
are  prepared  to  pour  the  same  great  lesson  of  Christ  the 
only  Savior,  the  Sovereign  and  the  Pattern  of  his  people. 

3.  But  what  evidence  have  we  that  these  volumes  are  fit- 
ted for  the  present  generation  of  men  in  other  lands  ?  Many, 
then,  of  this  class  of  publications  are  written  by  mission- 
aries abroad,  conversant  with  the  field  they  till,  and  anx- 
iously and  prayerfully  addressing  themselves  to  its  wants. 
In  Burmah  and  Siam,  in  India  and  in  China,  the  Society 
is  thus  assailing  the  favorite  idols  and  delusions  of  the 
heathen,  in  the  manner  which  men  who  have  given  their 
lives  to  the  work  deem  most  suitable. '  The  Society  is  thus, 
at  the  same  time,  proclaiming  the  Gospel  before  the  car  of 
Juggernaut  and  around  the  Areopagus  where  Paul 
preached  ;  and  man}''  of  their  Tracts  have  already  been 
blessed,  to  the  conversion  of  the  readers,  and  to  shake, 
in  the  minds  of  thousands  besides,  the  old  traditional 
idolatry  received  from  their  forefathers. 

Others  of  these  compositions  are  translations  of  works 
written  in  England  or  America,  and  many  of  them  are  in 
the  number  of  the  Society's  E?iglish  publications.  It  may 
to  some  minds  seeni  very  doubtful  that  any  work,  prepared 
originally  for  the  christians  of  Great  Britain,  or  our  own 
land,  can,  by  any  possibility,  be  intelligible  or  useful  to 
heathen  nations  trained  under  different  influences  and 
strangers  to  our  modes  of  thought  and  expression. 

But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  good  eflects  of 


CHARACTER   OF   PUBLICATIONS.  89 

some  of  these  translations  have  been  put  beyond  doubt  by 
the  testimony  of  missionaries  as  to  the  interest  they  have 
excited,  and  even  by  the  conversion  of  some  of  the  heathen. 
One  of  the  works  of  Baxter,  we  believe  it  was  his  Call, 
v/as  translated  inhis  life-time  by  our  own  Eliot  for  the  use 
of  his  Indian  converts;  and  a  youth,  the  son  of  one  of 
their  chiefs,  continued  reading-  the  work  with  tears  on  his 
death-bed.  The  pastor  who  talked  to  the  carpet-w^eavers 
of  Kidderminster  could,  it  seems,  speak  as  well  to  the 
savage  hunters  and  fishermen  of  Natick  and  of  Martha's 
Vineyard.  The  Dairyman's  Daughter  was  early  trans- 
lated into  Russian  by  a  princess  of  that  country,  and  has 
been  acceptable  and  useful.  The  free-born  English  maiden 
that  lived  and  died  amid  the  delightful  scenery  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight  has  told  her  tale  effectively  to  the  serfs  and 
amid  the  snows  of  Russia.  Fuller's  Great  Question  An- 
swered, another  of  the  Society's  Tracts,  was  crowned  with 
striking  success  in  a  Danish  version,  and  it  was  found  that 
the  pastor  of  the  inland  English  village  of  Kettering  was 
still  a  powerful  preacher  in  the  new  garb  and  tongue  that 
had  been  given  him  for  the  inhabitants  of  Copenhagen. 
Others  have  gone  yet  farther.  We  name  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  of  Bunyan  as  an  illustration,  because  none  of 
the  religious  works  of  Europe  has  been  so  widely  trans- 
lated. In  English  the  Society  has  printed  it  not  only  in  the 
ordinary  style  but  in  the  raised  and  tangible  characters 
used  by  the  blind.  Little  did  the  tinker  of  Elstow  ever 
dream  that  his  matchless  allegory  should  be  translated 
into  the  tongue  of  the  false  prophet  Mahomet.  Yet  it  has 
appeared  in  Arabic ;  and  Joseph  Wolff,  in  his  travels  in 
Yemen,  distributed  copies  of  the  version  in  that  ancient 
and  widely-spoken  language.  In  seven  at  least,  if  not  in 
more,  of  the  dialects  of  India  it  has  made  its  appearance: 
in  the  Oriya,  the  Tamul,  the  Hindustani  or  Urdu,  the 
Mahrathi,  the  Malay,  the  Bengali,  and  very  recently  in 
the  Burman. 


90  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Fears,  at  the  time  when  an  Indian  translation  was  first 
proposed,  that  its  European  ideas  and  imagery  would  be 
unintelligible  to  the  native  of  the  East,  led  a  popular  fe- 
male writer  to  prepare  in  its  stead  her  Pilgrim  of  India, 
w^ith  its  Hindoo  phrases  and  metaphors.  But  the  original 
Pilgrim  has  been  permitted  now  to  speak,  and  he  has 
spoken  not  in  vain.  The  number  of  the  London  Evangeli- 
cal Magazine  for  the  present  month,  (Oct.  1842,)  contains 
the  memoir  of  Daniel,  a  Hindoo  convert,  written  by  him- 
self. From  this  it  appears  that  the  work  of  Bunyan  w^as 
a  powerful  instrument  in  his  conversion  :  "  At  this  period 
a  gentleman  put  into  my  hand  a  book  called  the  Pil- 
grim's Progress,  which  I  read.  Partly  by  reading  this 
book  and  partly  by  the  remembrance  of  all  the  labor  which 
had  been  expended  on  me  at  Coimbatoor,  I  began  to  feel 
that  the  christian  religion  was  the  only  true  religion,  and 
that  Christ  was  the  only  sinless  Savior."  This  v/as,  pro- 
bably, the  Tamul  version. 

A  translation  was  made  by  the  British  missionaries  in- 
to the  Malagasy  language,  for  the  use  of  the  christian 
converts  whom  God  granted  to  their  labors  in  the  island 
of  Madagascar.  Of  the  hold  which  the  volume  took  upon 
their  hearts  we  may  judge  from  the  language  of  the  letters 
addressed  by  some  of  these  converts  to  their  missionary 
pastors  when  expelled  from  the  island  : — *'  We  are  im- 
pressed and  delighted  when  we  read  the  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress." And  at  a  still  later  day,  when  the  storm  of  perse- 
cution beat  yet  more  heavily  upon  them,  and  some  were 
executed  for  the  profession  of  their  faith,  it  is  said  that 
while  awaiting  death  they  felt  inexpressible  peace  and  joy, 
and  said  one  to  another,  *'  Now  are  we  in  the  situation 
of  Christian  and  Faithful,  when  they  were  led  to  the  city 
of  Vanity  Fair."  An  European  book,  thus  quoted  by  Afri- 
can martyrs  when  about  to  die,  must  be  of  singular  merit. 

The  sa:r.e  book  has  been  translated  into  Finnish^  for  the 
use  of  the  region  verging  on  Lapland,  and  printed  in 


CUARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  91 

Dutch  for  the  use  of  the  missions  in  South  Africa.  A  ver- 
sion has  been  made  into  Hawaiian  at  the  Sandwich  Islands ; 
and  one  in  Tahitian  for  the  Society  Islands,  though  we  do 
not  know  that  the  latter  has  as  yet  been  published. 

A  book  which  could  thus   interest  the  fur-clad   pea- 
santry  of  the  frozen    North  in  their  smoky  huts,    and 
the   tawny   Caffre  and    Hottentot    in    the    midst   of  his 
sandy,  sunburnt  plains,    which   delights    in    the   cabins 
of  our  own  West  and  in   the  far  Hindustan,  must  have 
some  elements  that    fit  it  for  use  everywhere.     The  na- 
ture of  man  is  one  in  all  climes.    Conscience  may  be 
drugged  and  mutilated,  but  its  entire  extirpation  seems  im- 
possible, and  it  lives  under  the  pressure  of  error  and  amid 
torpor  to  witness  for  truth,  and  right,  and  God,  in  quarters 
where  our  unbelief  and  fear  would  expect  to  find  it,  if  not 
utterly  wanting,  at   least  utterly  inert.    The  same  heart 
beats  under  the  tattooed  skin  of  the  New  Zealander  as 
under  the  grease  and  ochre  with  which  the  Tambookie  of 
South  Africa  delights  to  adorn  his  person,  under  the  silks 
of  the  Chinaman  and  the  furs  of  the  Laplander.    It  has 
every  where  the  same  depravity,  that  no  grade  of  civiliza- 
tion or  refinement  can  so  adorn  as  to  lift  beyond  the  need 
of  the  renewing  gospel,  and  that  no  brutalism  can  so  de- 
grade as  to  put  below  the  reach  of  the  same  efficacious 
remedy.    Religion,  it  should  be  remembered  again,  is  not 
mere  abstract  speculation  ;   it  is  also  emotion.    With  the 
heart  man  believeth.   Now  science  and  literature  (strictly 
so  called)  may  be  an  affair  of  certain  civilized  nations,  and 
of  them  only;  but  poetry  and  passion  are  of  all  lands  and 
of  all  kindreds  of  the  earth.    And  how  largely  do  these 
enter  into  the  structure  of  the  Gospel,  of  the  book  revealing 
that  Gospel,  and  of  all  christian  writings  modelled  upon 
that  Bible.    There  are,  it  must  be  allowed,  in  the  produc- 
tion of  Bunyan's  genius,  excellencies  and  peculiarities  that 
do  not  exist  to  an  equal  extent  in  many  of  the  other  pubiica- 
tion.'i  of  the  Society,  adapting  it  to  interest  mankind  in 


92  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

every  grade  of  civilization  and  under  all  the  varieties  of 
custom  and  taste  that  culture  or  neglect,  error  or  truth 
may  have  produced.  Yet  it  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
found,  when  the  trial  shall  have  been  made  by  competent 
translators,  that  many  other  of  the  favorite  books  of  Bri- 
tish and  American  christians  are  fitted  to  become  nearly 
as  much  the  favorites  of  the  converts  whom  the  grace 
of  God  shall  gather  in  the  ancient  East  or  in  the  islands 
of  the  seas. 

Our  hope  that  much  of  the  literature  of  European  or 
American  origin  may  thus  become  at  once  available  for 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  converts  from  heathenism  rests 
not  on  the  peculiar  talent  of  the  works  so  much  as  on 
their  subject  and  structure.  Their  theme  is  Jesus  Christ, 
the  character  and  the  history  devised  by  infinite  wisdom, 
with  the  express  intention  of  winning  its  way  to  the  sym- 
pathies of  man,  under  all  the  varieties  of  complexion, 
caste,  language,  laws  and  literature.  This  theme  has 
proved  its  power  to  exorcise  superstitions  the  most  foul 
and  inveterate,  and  to  raise  from  the  deepest  and  most 
hopeless  degradation.  Pervaded  and  saturated  as  so  many 
of  the  Society's  w^orks  are  with  this  subject,  w^e  have  con- 
fidence that  the  divine  grandeur  of  the  theme  wnll,  to  some 
extent,  compensate  for  the  defects  of  the  human  author- 
ship. The  idols  of  all  lands  shall  totter  from  their  shrines, 
and  yet  be  broken  before  its  might ;  and  we  look  for  the 
shattering  of  all  by  the  faithful  and  full  presentation  of  this 
truth — Christ  and  him  crucified — a  truth  that  is  to  be  the 
great  Iconoclast  principle  of  the  age ;  for  it  is  God's  own 
device,  and  carries  with  it  God's  own  promise  and  the  ir- 
resistible energy  of  his  benediction. 

We  have  reason,  again,  to  expect  the  adaptation  of 
much  of  the  religious  literature  of  our  own  country  and 
Britain  to  the  wants  of  the  foreign  missionary,  from  its 
close  assimilation  to  the  character  of  the  Scripture.  This  is 
a  book  carrying  one  of  the  evidences  of  its  divine  origin 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  93 

upon  it,,  in  its  power  of  interesting  all  grades  of  society 
and  all  ages  of  mankind.  Par  as  any  religious  writer 
becomes  penetrated  by  its  spirit,  and  transfuses,  as  many 
of  the  Society's  authors  have  done,  its  imagery  and  train 
of  thought  into  his  own  compositions,  so  far  he  prepares 
them  for  acceptableness  and  favor  among  every  tribe 
of  mankind.  If  the  Scriptures  look  with  special  favor 
on  any  class  of  our  race,  it  is  on  the  Eastern  portion 
of  the  world.  The  Bible  is  an  Oriental  book,  as  far 
as  it  is  the  book  of  any  one  region  or  race.  It  would 
have  been,  in  style  and  imagery,  a  very  different  volume 
had  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  been  left  to  prepare  it.  And 
as  far  as  it  should  have  partaken  of  their  marked  pe- 
culiarities it  would  have  been  less  fitted  for  one  great 
errand  it  has  in  this  age  to  accomplish.  The  missions 
of  our  times  are  pouring  back  from  the  favored  West  and 
from  the  tents  of  Japheth  the  light  of  salvation  on  the 
long-neglected  habitations  of  Shem,  its  original  seats,  and 
upon  the  millions  of  the  East.  It  is  some  advantage,  then, 
that  we  go  to  them  with  a  book  that,  if  it  favor  any  class, 
is  more  Eastern  than  Western  in  character;  and  that  we 
carry  with  the  Bible  a  biblical  literature  that,  from  the  book 
on  which  it  has  been  founded,  has,  in  many  of  its  speci- 
mens, caught  a  tinge  of  similar  feelings,  and  imagery,  and 
style. 

In  that  body  of  religious  literature  whose  evangelical 
and  practical  character  we  have  thus  imperfectly  examined, 
the  Society  have  done  much.  But  it  would  be  doing  them 
and  their  objects  gross  injustice  to  suppose  that  they  pre- 
sent it  as  a  complete  body  of  religious  reading  for  all 
the  wants  of  the  age.  Its  publications  may  have  some  in- 
equality of  merit.  What  collection  is  otherwise?  The 
lingering  and  fitful  charities  of  the  churches  may  forbid 
their  enlarging  it  as  they  desire,  and  as  the  wants  of  our 
own  and  foreign  lands  require.  The  Nonconformist  liter- 
ature has  many  volumes  they  would  gladly  add  to  their 

6 


94)  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

existing  collection.  There  are  two  other  great  eras  of 
religious  conflict  and  efTort,  from  the  literature  of  which 
the  London  Tract  Society  has  drawn  largely,  and  this 
Institution  as  yet  not  at  all.  We  allude  to  the  era  of  the 
stormy  infancy  of  the  Scottish  National  Church,  and  the 
works  of  its  Rutherford,  its  Guthrie,  its  Binning,  its  An- 
drew Gray,  and  its  Durhpain.  The  other  greater  and 
earlier  era  is  that  of  the  English  Reformation.  Of  the 
works  of  the  English  reforiners  our  British  brethren  have 
published  several  volumes.  As  to  the  present  available- 
ness  of  this  latter  literature  we  are  aware  that  there  is  di- 
vision of  opinion  ;  but  its  history  would  be  valuable,  if  not 
its  remains. 

Nor  is  the  American  Tract  Society  to  be  judged  as 
if  it  had  completed  its  own  designs,  or  finished  its  mission 
as  respects  a  native  religious  literature.  Its  power  to  elicit 
works  drawn  up  with  peculiar  reference  to  our  position 
and  habits  as  a  people  has  as  yet  been  shown  but  in  a 
small  degree.  The  churches  of  this  country  are  capable 
of  much  more,  and  need  much  more;  and  if  duly  sustained, 
the  Society  may  proceed  in  this  work  to  a  point  far  beyond 
the  limit  of  its  present  attainments.  Will  the  churches 
afford  this  aid  ?  Here  at  least  they  will  have — if  they 
choose,  by  prayer,  and  effort,  and  liberality,  to  secure  it — 
ihey  will  have  a  literature  all  that  they  can  wish,  as  to  its 
national  adaptation. 

And  if^our  country  and  others  that  have  been  long  fa- 
vored wuh  the  serene  and  pure  light  of  the  Gospel  are  yet 
to  know  days  of  dark  and  stormy  controversy  with  error; 
if  over  the  once-peaceful  encampments  of  our  churches  is 
spreading  the  hum  that  betokens  an  approaching  com- 
bat ;  if,  as  some  fear,  we  are  entering  in  our  times  upon  a 
stern  and  close  conflict  with  Romanism  or  with  skepti- 
cism, or  with  both:  or  are  to  stand  up  for  our  national 
morals  and  national  existence  against  the  floods  of  a  frivo- 
lous and  profligate  literature  that  now  drowns  the  minds 


CHARACTER    OF    PUBLICATIONS.  95 

of  oar  youth  as  beneath  a  rushing  deluge  of  inanit}?-,  and 
filth,  and  venom,  we  have  little  fear  as  to  the  result.  We 
cannot  distrust  the  powers  and  the  triumphs  of  Scripture, 
the  safety  and  ultimate  victories  of  the  church.  In  the 
God  of  the  Bible  and  the  Head  of  the  Church  we  need 
not  fear  to  place  the  most  unquestioning  and  imperturb- 
able confidence.  He  who  gave  the  Bible  will  guard  the 
gift;  and  He  who  built  will  watch,  as  with  a  wall  of  fire, 
around  the  city  of  his  own  chosen  Jerusalem.  And,  from 
all  the  past  history  of  the  church,  we  augur  that  out  of 
this  or  any  other  conflict  that  may  be  awaiting  us  in  the 
interval  between  our  times  and  the  final  glory  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  there  may  grow  some  of  the  richest  produc- 
tions of  that  literature  which  the  church  is  yet  to  enjoy; 
a  literature  as  yet  unwritten,  and  which  this  Institution, 
we  trust,  will,  with  others,  aid  in  educincr,  difl^usino-,  and 
perpetuating.  Some  of  the  richest  legacies  which  sanc- 
tified genius  has  everbequeathed  to  the  christian  church 
are  like  that  more  cherished  portion  which  the  dyino- 
patriarch  gave  to  his  favorite  son,  his  Joseph,  "One  por- 
tion above  thy  brethren,  which  I  took  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  Amorite  with  my  sword  and  with  my  bow;"  the  spoils 
plucked  as  out  of  the  very  teeth  of  the  Destroyer,  the 
trophies  of  a  late  and  hard-won  victory. 

The  above  paper  was  referred  to  Rev.  B.  C.  Cutler,  D.  D. 
Rev.  George  H.  Fisher,  and  Charles  Hosmer,  Esq.  who 
reported,  recommending  its  adoption  and  publication,  which 
was  sanctioned  by  the  Board. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  M'Auley  read  the  following,  prepared  by 
the  Rev.  Tryon  Edwards,  of  Rochester,  N.  York. 


9€  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING, 

DOCUMENT  VL 

lite  Society's  PublicatioKs  an  aid  to  Pastoral  Efforts 

Soine  years  since  a  distinguished  minister  of  New  Eng- 
land thought  within  himself,  what  would  be  the  effect  at 
the  present  day  of  the  preaching  of  the  great  divines  of  the 
I7th  century.  The  more  he  pondered  the  thought  the 
more  it  interested  his  mind,  until  at  last  he  resolved  to 
test  the  problem  by  copying  and  preaching  to  his  own 
people  a  sermon  from  one  of  their  number.  Mentioning  to  a 
few  individuals  his  plan  and  the  reasons  of  it,  that  he 
might  not  be  charged  with  plagiarism,  he  made  the  ex- 
periment. The  Sabbath  came;  the  sermon  was  preached, 
and  it  told  with  mighty  power.  His  large  and  intelligent 
congregation  were  riveted  in  breathless  attention,  and 
solemn  as  the  grave.  They  went  from  the  house,  a  few 
speaking  in  under  tones  of  the  deep  impressiveness  and 
power  of  the  sermon,  but  most  of  them  giving  still  higher 
tribute  to  its  excellence  by  the  thoughtful  stillness  in 
which  they  walked,  searching  their  own  hearts  and 
thinking  of  eternal  things. 

That  sermon  was  from  Richard  Baxter,  and  its  influ- 
ence in  that  congregation,  and  through  it,  will  never  die ;  its 
power  may  go  down  from  generation  to  generation,  to  be 
known  in  its  fulness  only  at  the  judgment.  By  it  "he, 
being  dead,"  is  yet  speaking,  and  the  power  of  his  voice 
may  be  felt  for  ever ! 

Now  suppose  that  on  any  one  Sabbath  that  same  experi- 
ment were  to  be  made  in  every  pulpit  of  our  land  ;  that 
Baxter  were  to  preach  on  the  same  Sabbath  to  the  whole 
of  our  vastly  extended  church-going  population.  Who  can 
tell  how  blessed  the  results  ?  Nay  further,  suppose  that 
not  only  Baxter,  but  Doddridge,  and  Flavel,  and  Bunyan, 


AID  TO  PASTORAL  EFFORT.  97 

and  Edwards,  and  the  whole  host  of  the  most  eminent  and 
successful  of  God's  servants  in  every  age  could  all  be 
gathered,  and  all  could  at  the  same  time  be  preaching  in 
every  parish  of  our  country,  would  it  not  soon  make  it 
as  the  very  garden  of  God?  And  if  any  man  or  body  of 
men  had  the  power  to  raise  these  men  from  their  graves, 
and  bring  them  back  for  a  season  to  preach  as  they  did 
while  living,  would  they  not,  by  doing  this,  render  the 
most  important,  I  had  almost  said  an  infinite  service  to 
the  pastors  of  our  land,  and,  through  them,  to  the  church 
of  God,  and  to  the  world? 

This  very  work  the  American  Tract  Society  has  done, 
and  is  now  doing.  Lightly  as  the  momentous  fact  seems 
to  have  impressed  the  minds  of  multitudes,  it  is  scarcely 
a  paradox  to  say  that  this  Society  has  raised  the  dead,  and 
is  sending  them  to  the  help  of  the  living.  The  mightiest 
minds,  the  warmest  hearts,  the  most  active,  and  eminent, 
and  devoted  servants  of  God  of  every  age- — these  they  have 
summoned  back  from  eternity,  and  now  holding  them  in 
commission,  are  ready  to  send  them  to  every  village  and 
hamlet  of  our  country  or  the  world.  Every  pastor  may 
call  them  to  his  aid  in  his  arduous  work.  Every  people 
may  have  the  benefit  of  their  labors. 

But  to  drop  the  figure,  we  would  call  the  attention  of 
the  pastors  of  our  land  to  the  important  aid  provided  for 
them  in  the  Tracts  and  especially  the  bound  volumes  of  the 
American  Tract  Society.  As  to  the  character  of  these 
volumes,  it  is  well  known.  They  are  all  of  tried  value, 
proved  to  be  so  by  the  united  testimony  of  the  Church,  and 
by  their  ever-growing  acceptance  .and  usefulness.  They 
are  full  of  the  substance  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  aim 
directly  at  the  conversion  of  the  souls  of  men.  They  are 
also  of  every  variety,  embracing  in  their  range  every  im- 
portant subject,  and  fitted  to  every  age.  The  mere  exam- 
ination of  the  catalogue  of  the  Society  will  show  that  they 
are  fitted  alike  for  the  strongest  and  the  weakest  micds. 


98  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING, 

that  they  are  adapted  to  every  spiritual  want,  and  to  every 

exigency  of  the  pastoral  work. 

And  now  the  question  is,  will  pastors  ponder  this  sub- 
ject? Will  they  dwell  upon  it  till  they  feel  its  importance  ? 
Will  they  avail  themselves  to  the  full  of  the  aid  which  is 
ever  ready  at  their  call?  To  illustrate  at  the  same  time 
the  importance  and  the  mode  of  doing  this,  we  would  say, 
let  every  pastor  of  our  land  keep  by  him  the  bound  vol- 
umes of  the  American  Tract  Society,  and  let  his  people 
see  that  he  is  abundantly  furnished  with  means  for  doing 
it.  Let  him  have  a  shelf  in  his  library  appropriated  to 
them,  from  which  he  shall,  at  his  discretion,  lend  or  give 
them  to  the  members  of  his  charge.  In  the  400  Tracts  of 
the  Society  he  may  find  the  truth  prepared  and  adapted  to 
almost  every  circumstance  and  every  individual.  As  he 
goes  to  the  house  of  afBiction,  let  him  leave  a  copy  of"  the 
Gift  for  Mourners,"  filled  as  it  is  with  the  rich  thoughts  of 
Flaveland  Cecil:  every  grain  of  it  pure  gold.  When  going, 
like  the  Savior  at  Cana  of  Galilee,  to  the  festivities  of  the 
marriage  scene,  let  him  give  to  those  who  are  there  united 
for  life,  the  excellent  "  Advice  to  a  Newly  Married  Couple." 
It  will  show  them  the  high  responsibilities  of  the  relation 
they  assume,  and  strongly  impress  its  important  duties. 

To  the  sordid,  the  avaricious,  the  selfish,  and  those  too 
much  absorbed  in  the  world,  he  may  send  "  Mammon," 
Avith  its  powerful  arguments  and  rousing  appeals,  calling 
to  a  self-denying  benevolence,  and  pointing  for  motives  to 
it,  to  the  wants  of  the  world  and  the  day  of  final  judgm.ent. 
•'Normand  Smith,"  and  "  Harlan  Page,"  \he  former  will 
impress  the  duty  and  illustrate  the  manner  of  living  for 
God  from  day  to  day  as  a  man  of  business,  and  the  lailer 
of  individual  christian  efl^Drt  for  the  conversion  of  the  souls 
of  men.  By  "  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress"  he  may 
arouse  the  careless,  and  point  the  inquiring  to  the  Lamb  of 
God;  by  "Edwards  on  the  AfTections,"  he  may  search 
the  hearts  and  test  the  hopes  of  professing  christians; 


i 


AID    TO    P.iSTOSAL    EFFORT.  99 

and  by  the  "  History  of  Redemption,"  expand  the  minds 
even  of  the  most  intelligent  christians  to  new  and  vast 
views  of  truth,  so  that  they,  with  a  distinguished  living 
divine,  may  be  constrained  to  say  that  "  it  seemed  to  him, 
after  reading  it,  as  if  all  his  previous  life  he  had  been 
Jiving  in  a  nutshell;"  by  "  Foster"  he  may  "appeal  "  in 
almost  resistless  tones  to  the  intellect  and  heart  of  the  im- 
penitent; by  Pike,  he  may  persuade  to  "  Early  Piety,"  or 
•'  Guide  the  Young  Disciple  ;"  by  Brainerd  or  iMartyn  he 
may  wake  the  missionary  spirit ;  by  Nevins  or  H.  Moore, 
rouse  to  a  high  standard  of  *'  Practical  Piety  ;"  by  Bunyan, 
point  the  "Pilgrim"  on  his  way  to  the  Heavenly  City, 
and  by  Baxter,  whisper  to  him  "Dying  Thoughts," 
or  tell  of  that  "Rest"  that  remaineth  for  the  Saint 
beyond  the  grave.  And  by  these  and  the  many  other 
volumes  of  the  Society,  he  may  at  all  times,  and  es- 
pecially in  revivals  of  religion,  ever  be  preaching,  or  ra- 
ther calling  in  the  mighty  and  sainted  dead  to  preach,  to 
individuals  and  from  house  to  house,  to  all  who  are  about 
him.  Let  the  pastor  do  this,  and  he  would  deeply  inter- 
est his  own  heart  in  the  volumes  that  he  circulates.  He 
would  save  to  himself  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  or  rather 
he  would  multiply  his  own  labors  and  usefulness  an 
hundredfold.  The  m.ere  fact  that  he  gives  or  lends  the 
\'olume  would  secure  its  being  read  ;  so  that  thus,  at  the 
same  moment,  he  may  be  preaching  to  hundreds,  while 
still  he  goes  on  with  his  personal  and  private  duties.  By 
these  volumes  he  will  crowd  out  the  thousand  worthless 
works  that  othervv^ise  will  engage  and  corrupt  his  people. 
He  will  meet  an  intellectual  and  .moral  want — occupy  a 
vacancy  which,  "  if  he  does  not  fill,  the  devil  will,"  By 
thus  making  his  people  more  intelligent,  he  will  the  better 
prepare  them  to  hear  and  be  profited  by  his  own  preach- 
ing. Thus  making  them  familiar  with  a  variety  of  most 
valuable  authors,  he  will  be  able  to  preach  much  and 
powerfully  by  allusion  ;    the  mere  mention  of  Baxter  or 


100  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Bunyan  calling  up  all  their  instructions  afresh  to  impress 
the  heart.  With  the  life,  and  strength,  and  talents  of  but 
one  man,  he  will  accomplish  the  labor  of  multitudes  ; 
making  himself,  as'  it  were,  the  director  of  the  mighty- 
dead,  tasking  them  every  day  for  his  own  work  and  for 
the  good  of  his  people,  and  thus  in  the  highest  degree 
blessing  them,  and  aiding  on  the  cause  and  kingdom  of 
Christ. 

Of  one  pastor  we  might  speak  who  has  availed  himself 
of  the  aid  which  the  American  Tract  Society  thus  offers 
to  all.  Its  volumes  he  keeps  constantly  by  him,  at  any 
time  to  be  lent  or  given  to  his  people.  And  richly  has 
God  blessed  his  effort  thus  to  do  good.  Many  of  his 
people  have  been  roused  to  reflection  cr  led  to  the  Savior 
by  volumes  like  Foster's  Appeal,  or  Doddridge's  Rise  and 
Progress  of  Religion  ;  and  many  of  the  christians  of  his 
church  have  been  edified  and  built  up  by  works  like  those 
of  Baxter,  Bunyan,  or  Nevins,  or  Pay  son.  One,  by  the 
perusal  of  *' Mammon,"  has  been  led  to  double  his  subscrip- 
tions to  the  great  objects  of  benevolence.  Many  a  mourn- 
er has  found  rich  and  lasting  instruction  from  "  the  Gift " 
that  he  has  left  them,  and  very  many  by  the  Tracts  that  he 
has  given  have  been  hopefully  guided  in  the  way  of  life. 

In  closing  v/e  would  again  repeat,  let  but  every  pastor 
be  wise  and  faithful  to  avail  himself  to  the  full  of  the  aid 
which  here  is  offered  ;  and  let  every  church  and  congre- 
gation see  that  its  pastor  has  fully  the  means  of  doing  it, 
and  both  shall  have  reason  to  rejoice  together  in  their 
common  improvement  and  growth  in  grace,  and  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  paper  was  referred  to  Rev.  B.  C.  Taylor,  D.  D.  Rev. 
N.  Murray,  and  Rev.  J.  W.  McLane,  and  was  adopted  for 
publication.  The  meeting  then  proceeded  to  a  free  discus- 
sion and  statements  illustrative  of  the  principles  of  the  docu- 
ments presented. 


AID   TO   PASTORAL    EFFORT.  101 

Rev.  Dr.  M'AULEY  spoke  of  the  value  of  the  publications  of  ihi« 
Society  as  an  aid  to  the  pastor.  He  knew  a  pastor  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  exercise  great  discrimination  in  the  selection  of  Tracts  and 
books  adapted  to  the  capacity  and  age  of  those  to  whom  he  ga-ve 
them ;  and  the  conversion  even  of  persons  seventy  years  of  age  had 
been  the  result  of  his  judicious  labors.  Persons  to  whom  but  a  singNi 
Tract  had  been  given,  were  led  to  the  Depository  for  more,  and  by 
reading  they  were  led  to  the  sanctuary  to  hear,  and  thus  were  con- 
verted to  God. 

Nothing,  he  said,  was  better  calculated  to  impress  the  mind  than 
the  simple  statement  of  truth,  leading  men  to  feel  that  there  is  an 
eye  to  see  and  search  them,  to  leach  them  of  their  souls  and  the 
Savior,  of  heaven  and  hell.  Such  a  statement  of  truth  do  the  Tracts 
of  this  Society  present,  and  we  rejoice  to  see  the  day  when  all  may 
become  preachers  of  righteousness,  by  bringing  the  Gospel  into  every 
family  by  their  distribution.  Dr.  M.  said  that  he  had  derived  great 
benefit  from  the  Tracts  himself;  often  when  exhausted  in  body,  but 
compelled  to  make  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  he  had  been  rouscrd  to 
successful  exertion  by  selecting -and  reading  one  of  them. 

Rev.  RAVAIJD  K.   RODGERS,  of  Boundbrook,  N.  J.  thought 
that,  of  all  the  great  agencies  for  advancing  the  Redeemer's  cause,  few 
were  more  blessed  in  their  results  than  the  system  of  monthly  Tract 
distribution  and  the  general  circulation  of  the  volumes  of  this  Society. 
From  every  part  of  the  land  most  delightful  intelligence  might  be 
brought  of  souls  converted  to  Christ  by  reading  the  simple  truth,  and 
multitudes  reclaimed  from  the  ways  of  sin.    In  his  own  congregation 
he  said  that  the  monthly  Tract  was  anticipated  almost  with  as  much 
anxiety  as  the  weekly  sermon.    When  the  Agent  for  volume  circula- 
tion came  among  them,  they  supposed  that  in  that  scattered  popula- 
tion little  could  be  done  ;    but  to  prepare  the  way  for  an  effort,  Mr. 
R.  preached  a  sermon  from  the  text  "Give  attendance  to  reading/' 
and  the  region  was  then  districted,  and  the  work  comipenced.    The 
box  which  the  agent  brought,  containing  150  volumes,  was  soon  ex- 
hausted, and  another  procured,  and  another,  until  between  eight  and 
nine  hundred  volumes  were  scattered  among  the  people.    Four  or 
five   hundred  of  these  Mr.  R.  distributed  himself,   and  not  a  siucr\o 
individual   to  whom  he  offered   them  refused   to  buy  one  or  more 
This  effort  was  made  four  years  ago,  and  its  influence. is  felt  to  thjs 
day,  in  keeping  out  a  vast  deal  of  the  trashy  and  licentious  reading 
which  13  so   widely   spread  over  the  land.    The  church  had   been 
blessed  with  a  general  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  he  know  ctot  how 

6* 


102  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

far  this  blessing  had  been  connected  with  the  reading  of  the  volumes. 
He  mentioned  several  books  which  had  been  especially  useful  and 
popular,  as  Pike's  Persuasives  to  Early  Piety  and  Guide  to  Young 
Disciples,  Life  of  Harlan  Page,  &c.  He  concluded  by  assuring  the 
Board  that  they  have  every  reason  to  take  courage  and  go  forward  ; 
and  not  to  be  weak  or  faint  in  their  minds,  being  confident  that  their 
work  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  He  believed  they  would  find  that 
the  interest  which  pastors  feel  in  their  labors  is  too  deep,  and  too 
closely  allied  to  the  great  concerns  to  which  they  are  called,  to  al- 
lovv  them  ever  to  suffer  it  to  decline. 

Rev.  B.  C.  TAYLOP.,  D.  D.  of  Bergen,  N.  J.  said  that  nothing 
could  be  more  grateful  to  his  feelings  than  to  concur  in  the  testimony 
of  the  usefulness  of  the  publications  of  the  Tract  Society  which  had 
just  been  given.  It  was  his  privilege  in  early  life  to  be  under  the 
instructions  of  a  man  whom  he  tenderly  loved,  and  whose  memory  he 
cherished — Rev.  Dr.  Finley  ;  and  whose  counsels  respecting  the  in- 
fluence of  books  pertaining  to  godliness  he  should  never  forget. 
During  the  great  revival  which  took  place  in  his  church  in  1815,  he 
had  witnessed  the  care  and  the  zeal  which  that  good  man  exhibited 
in  disseminating  light  and  truth  through  the  medium  of  a  few  well- 
selected  volumes,  such  as  Doddridge  and  Baxter  ;  and  there  are  many 
still  living  who  can  attest  the  wisdom  of  his  action.  Particularly 
Doddridge's  "Rise  and  Progress,"  the  solemn  and  tender  counsels  of 
which  had  been  blessed,  he  believed,  to  the  spiritual  benefit  of  his 
own  soul. 

In  the  progress  of  my  ministry,  said  Dr.  T.  I  have  endeavored 
never  to  lose  sight  of  this  means  of  influence.  I  have  watched  at- 
tentively the  effect,  and  have  made  it  an  object  to  have,  as  far  as 
possible,  every  family  supplied  unth  a  plenty  of  religious  reading. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  I  have  distributed  more  than  1500 
volumes.  This  was  before  the  last  year.  At  that  time  God  was 
pleased  to  pour  out  his  Spirit,  and  just  as  one  and  another  were  cry- 
ing, "  What  must  I  do  1"  your  agent  came  unexpectedly  among  us. 
I  could  not  mistake  the  providence.  1  felt  the  way  must  be  opened 
to  the  Agent.  It  was  so.  A  neighboring  pastor  was  called  in  to  as- 
sist, and  700  volumes  were  added  to  the  number  already  in  the  pos- 
session of  my  people. 

This  was  in  the  fall  of  1841.  Only  about  two  months  ago  I  w.is 
called  upon  by  an  individual  anxious  to  speak  concerning  his  soul. 
Doddridge's  "Rise  and  Progress"  was  again  the  happy  instrument, 
nnder  God,  of  awakening  his  soul  to  a  sense  of  its  peril.    In  view  of 


AID    TO    PASTORAL    EFFORT.  103 

what  I  have  seen,  I  feel  that  I  have  great  reason  to  bless  God  for  the 
assistance  your  publications  have  rendered  nric.  Fourteen  years  ago 
there  were  not  more  than  four  religious  periodicals  of  any  kind  taken 
in  my  parish.  But  now  how  widely  different.  The  spirit  of  reading 
exists  among  old  and  young.  Religious  truth  has  free  and  frequent 
contact  with  their  minds  and  heart.  They  are  more  intelligent,  and 
more  ready  to  act.  The  truth  has  greater  effect,  and  every  appeal  and 
claim  of  the  Gospel  a  readier  access  to  their  minds.  All  these  ef- 
forts hare  excited  a  lively  gratitude  in  my  heart,  and  impel  me  most 
earnestly  and  affectionately  to  bid  you,  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord, 
go  forward. 

Rev.  Mr.  COOK,  one  of  the  Secretaries,  said  that  he  had  had  the 
happiness  of  circulating  about  110,000  of  the  Society's  publications  in 
four  years,  and  in  all  his  experience  he  had  met  but  one  pastor  who 
questioned  the  expediency  of  the  plan  of  distributing  books,  and  not 
one  who,  after  having  made  the  experiment,  was  not  willing  to  say  that 
it  was  a  good  work.  And  as  to  the  silent  influences  of  these  volumes, 
they  could  r;ever  be  gathered  up  till  the  day  of  judgment,  but  the 
officers  of  the  Society  are  constantly  cheered  by  hearing  of  the  bless- 
ed effects.  He  mentioned  the  volume  effort  in  New  Kaven,  Hart- 
ford, Boston,  Troy,  Rochester,  Charleston,  Savannah,  &c.  and  said 
that  in  most  of  those  cities  precious  and  powerful  revivals  succeeded. 
How  intimate  the  connection  might  be  !)elween  those  revivals  and 
that  effort  it  might  be  difficult  io  determine,  but  many  have  believed 
that  the  connection  was  direct  and  powerful.  One  pastor  in  Boston 
attributes  his  own  conversion  to  reading  Baxter's  Call,  another  in 
Troy  refers  his  own  to  Alleine's  Alarm,  and  the  rector  of  one  of  the 
largest  Episcopal  churches  in  the  West  attributes  his  conversion  from 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  to  the  perusal  of  one  of  these  books. 

Mr.  C.  said  he  would  mention  the  particulars  of  but  a  single  fact, 
which  he  had  received  a  few  days  before  from  the  lips  of  a  son  of 
the  venerable  minister  alluded  to,  as  an  illustration  of  the  benefits 
which  might  result  from  the  Society's  volume  circulation  in  destitute 
neighborhoods.    It;  was  one  of  many  that  might  be  staled. 

In  1807,  a  gentleman,  journeying  in.  the  interior  Of  New- York, 
then  regarded  as  the  far  West,  took  with  him  some  copies  of  the 
"  Rise  and  Progress,"  and  as  he  stopped  at  a  cabin  tavern,  he  noticed 
that  the  woman  who  waited  on  him  at  table  vv'as  busily  engaged  in 
reading.  He  inquired  what  book  she  had,  and  learned  it  v/as  "  Rise 
and  Progress,"  which  a  neighbor  had  lent  to  her,  and  she  was  copy^ 
jng  out  passages  that  peculiarly  interested  her  mind.  He  gave  her  a 
copy  of  the  book,  which  she  received  with  great  delight.    In  1839  hs 


I04t  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

was  passing  that  way,  and  inquiring  for  this  woman  by  name,  he  was 
pointed  to  an  elegant  house  as  her  residence.  He  called  on  her,  and 
asked  her  if  she  remembered  him.  She  did  not.  But  do  you  not  re- 
member the  man  who  gave  you  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress  thirty 
years  ago?  "Oh  yes,"  said  she,  "are  you  the  man?  Why  that 
book  was  the  means  of  converting  my  soul ;  and  it  was  lent  around, 
and  others  read  it,  and  we  had  meetings  to  read  ii  together  ;  it  was 
read  at  huskings  and  bees,  and  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  a  revival  fol- 
lowed ;  and  by  and  by  we  sent  for  a  minister  and  formed  a  church." 
The  church  of  Wyoming  is  the  fruit  of  that  seed.  And  that  book 
still  lives,  and  who  knows  but  it  may  be  the  means  of  forming  other 
churches,  or  raising  up  other  writers  like  Doddridge  to  bless  the 
world  1  The  influence  of  books — of  truths  thus  perpetuated — is 
boundless  and  incalculable.  Baxter  wrote — and  his  pungent  truths 
fell  upon  the  mind  of  Doddridge,  and  awakened  it  to  the  service  of 
God  and  mankind.  Under  its  impulse,  Doddridge  wrote  his  work,  and 
it  converted  the  soul  and  kindled  the  heart  of  Wilberforce.  Wilber- 
force  again  wrote  his  V^iew,  and  that  was  the  means  of  Legh  Rich- 
mond's conversion.  His  Dairyman's  Daughter  has  been  the  means 
of  converting  hundreds.  In  giving  a  book,  we  may  be  lighting  a 
train  that  may  kindle  other  fires,  which  shall  spread  their  influence 
until  their  blended  light  shall  mingle  with  the  sj)lendors  of  the  Millen- 
nial morning. 

Wednesday^  4  P.  M. — Statements  by  pastors  and  others  cou- 
tinued. 

Rev.  A.  D.  SMITH,  of  New-York,  said  that  he  had  affecting  re- 
collections— som.e  of  which  were  personal — in  reference  to  the  pub- 
lications of  this  Society.  He  could  look  back  nearly  thirty  years,  be- 
fore this  Society  had  existence,  when  in  early  boyhood,  residing  in  a 
village  where  there  was  no  minister,  his  mind  had  been  excited  and 
benefited  by  the  small  library  of  religious  books  which  were  pre- 
sented by  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  After  perusing  all  the 
books  of  his  father's  library,  and  some  even  of  a  professional  charac- 
ter, he  resorted  to  this  little  repository,  and  there  gathered  some  of 
his  firmest  and  most  useful  views  of  doctrinal  and  practical  religion. 
One  work  of  a  doctrinal  character  he  could  well  remember,  by  Dr. 
Proudfit.  He  had  never  seen  it  since  ;  but  its  statements  and  views 
were  still,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  unobliterated  from  his 
mind.  This  experience  had  given  him  an  invincible  argument  for 
the  propriety  of  placing  in  families,  books  of  this  character.  They 
may  be  read  as  I  read  these,  simply  because  they  are  convenient,  or 


AID  TO  PASTORAL  EFFORT.  105 

because  there  are  no  other.  And  if  the  time  comes  when  those  im- 
pressions shall  be  deepened  and  rendered  elfectnal  to  the  conversion 
of  the  soul,  they  will  remember  those  early  lessons,  and  they  will 
have  an  unequalled  force  in  the  formation  of  christian  character  .and 
of  religious  views. 

But  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  results  that  have  come  under  my  own 
observation.  These  Tracts  and  Books  are  an  invaluable  aid  to  pastors. 
I  could  occupy  hours  in  particularizing  the  instances  in  which  I  have 
received  much  aid  from  them.  My  pastoral  visits  are  seldom  made 
without  calling  in  their  aid.  For  the  careless  and  the  awakened;  for 
the  mourning  and  the  tempted  ;  not  only  the  personal  counsels  of  the 
pastor,  but  a  perpetuation  of  them  in  the  form  of  well-adapted  Tracts, 
are  necessary.  Into  the  hands  of  the  convert  and  the  recent  professor 
I  love  to  place  these  Tracts  and  Volumes.  I  have  always  kept  a  library 
of  them  for  lending  to  my  people.  Not  long  since  a  young  merchant, 
after  a  season  of  solicitude,  expressed  hope  in  Christ,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  church.  He  came  to  me  for  direction.  His  ideas  of  religion, 
though  otherwise  intelligent,  were  crude  and  ill-formed.  It  gave  mo 
unspeakable  happiness  to  be  able  to  put  into  bis  hands  such  worthy 
guides  as  Baxter,  Doddridge,  and  Pike.  He  read,  and  the  expansion 
of  his  mind,  and  the  increase  of  his  spiritual  knowledge,  and  his 
growth  were  perceptible  to  all.  On  a  return  from  a  short  absence,  I 
learned  he  had  been  suddenly  called  to  reside  in  a  destitute  settle- 
ment in  the  West.  It  was  a  delightful  thought  to  me,  that  I  had  been 
enabled  to  do  so  much  towards  giving  a  right  direction  to  his  reli- 
gious life. 

The  benefits  of  Tract  visitation  I  could  descant  upon  till  twilight 
has  deepened  around  us.  An  infidel  woman,  who  was  the  wife  of  an 
infidel,  was  not  long  ago  called  upon  by  a  lady  with  a  Tract.  At  first 
she  indignantly  refused  to  receive  it.  But  the  lady  talked  with  her 
■ — ^just  as  your  Colporteurs  will  do— and  at  length  gained  permission 
barely  to  leave  it.  It  remained  for  weeks  unread  ;  but  a  rainy  Sabbath 
brought  a  season  of  leisure  and  ennui,  and  she  took  it  up  to  while 
away  the  time.  Its  pungent  truths  fastened  upon  her  unseared  con- 
science, and  at  length  that  unbelieving  woman  was  weeping  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross. 

There  are  other  instances  equally  demonstrative  of  the  power  of 
those  winged  arrows — but  one  will  be  stated;  Not  far  from  my  own 
church  there  was  a  family,  consisting  of  a  father  and  three  daughters. 
The  father  was  an  infidel,  an  abandoned  profligate  and  a  despiser  of 
God  and  holy  things.  So  embittered  had  he  become,  that  the  sound 
of  a  church  bell  ever  would  exasperate  him  to  blasphemy  and  violence. 


103  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING.  ' 

His  children  of  course  were  prohibited  to  attend  church,  and  for  years 
they  were  strangers  to  the  sanctuary.  At  length  a  Tract  visiter  called. 
The  father  being  absent,  the  Tract  was  received,  and,  under  God,  it 
was  the  means  of  awakening  the  eldest  of  the  daughters.  For  fear  of 
the  father,  she  stole  away  to  a  religious  neighbor  to  get  instruction. 
She  was  converted,  and  united  with  the  church  ;  and  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  remarking  the  peace  with  which  she  recently  left  the  world. 

Mr.  HEM  AN  PACK.\RD,  from  Massachusetts,  stated  that  for  se- 
veral years  his  health  had  obliged  him  to  spend  his  winters  at  the 
South,  chiefly  at  New  Orleans,  where  he  found  opportunities  for  do- 
ing good  among  the  boatmen  and  raftmen  on  the  Mississippi.  His 
first  attempt  was  with  a  boatman,  who  wept  as  he  said,  "You  make 
me  think  of  my  mother,  vv'ho  used  to  lay  her  hand  upon  my  head  and 
pray  for  me — you  are  the  first  person  who  for  eight  years  has  spoken 
to  me  about  my  soul."  This  led  Mr.  P.  to  devise  a  way  in  which 
to  benefit  this  class  of  persons.  He  procured  from  his  native  place  a 
quantity  of  religious  Tracts  and  pamphlets,  which  had  long  been  laid 
aside,  and  proceeded  to  disperse  them  with  very  happy  effects.  As 
he  returned  to  the  South  in  successive  winters,  he  increased  his  sup- 
ply by  similar  contributions  from  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  his  native 
place.  He  would  get  the  raftmen,  who  mostly  came  from  Arkansas, 
to  take  bundles  of  Tracts  to  carry  home  and  circulate  amoncr  their 
neighbors. 

Last  autumn  he  had  a  supply  of  about  a  ton  and  a  quarter  of  Bibles 
and  Tracts.  He  mot  with  some  opposition,  instigated  in  some  cases 
by  the  priests  ;  though  many  catholics  accepted  his  donations.  He 
sometimes  gave  to  applicants  as  manybooks  as  he  could  get  into  the 
saddle-bags  which,  after  they  had  ascended  the  rivers  perhaps  1500 
miles,  they  must  then  carry  on  their  shoulders  for  many  a  weary  mile 
before  reaching  their  home.  He  had  repeatedly  had  reports  come  back 
to  him  of  conversions  and  revivals  of  religion  originating  from  these 
simple  means.  He  was  once  followed  for  six  miles,  over  an  exceed- 
ingly rough  road,  by  several  raftsmen,  who  were  barefoot  by  reason 
of  extreme  poverty,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  Tracts.  He  once 
proposed  to  one  of  this  class  to  go  home  with  him  for  the  same  pur- 
pose ;  as  they  went  along,  this  man  invited  another,  and  still  others 
to  go  with  them,  till  there  were  five  in  company.  One  of  these  after- 
wards came  again  with  two  more  ;  and  in  the  evening  a  boy  with  still 
two  more.  These  instances  must  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  many 
rehearsed  by  Mr.  P.  to  show  the  want  of  good  books  at  the  distant 
South  and  West,  and  the  inclination  of  the  destitute  to  have  this 
■want  supplied. 


AID    TO    PASTORAL    EFFORT.  107 

Hev.  Mr.  HOLT,  of  New-York,  stated  that  v\hile  he  was  a  pastor 
in  Portsmouth,  an  Agent  came  to  circulate  the  Volumes  of  the  Soci- 
ety. The  town  was  overwhelmed  with  an  Universalist  and  Unitarian 
influence — so  that  even  the  systematic  distribution  of  Tracts  had  to 
be  suspended.  But  the  effort  was  made,  and  the  Volumes  were  re- 
ceived with  altogether  an  unexpected  readiness,  and  the  number  of 
800  were  circulated,  where  it  was  thought  to  be  an  idle  estimate  to 
say  that  ]50  could  find  purchasers.  The  effect  was  most  happy.  A 
revival  of  religion  commenced  soon  after — what  agency  the  Book? 
had  in  it  is  not  known — which  left  an  impression  more  deep  and  per- 
vading than  any  other  movement  since  the  days  of  Whitfield. 

Rev.  Mr.  ARMS,  of  Norwich,  Ct.  added  his  testimony  to  the  value 
of  these  publications.  The  cause  was  a  favorite  one,  and  had  ihe  en- 
tire confidence  of  ministers  and  christians  in  that  part  of  the  State 
where  he  resided.  A  benevolent  individual  of  his  church  had  just  put 
into  his  hands  fifty  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  the  Society's  volumes, 
as  a  pastoral  library  to  be  loaned  as  individuals  had  need.  Many  of 
the  volumes  he  esteemed  as  among  the  most  valuable  of  human  pro- 
ductions. He  particularized  James'  Anxious  Inquirer,  than  which  for 
cultivated  minds  in  an  anxious  state  he  knew  of  no  better  book. 

Letter  from  Rev.  J.  Hopkins,  Auhurn,  N.  York. 

"I  rejoice  at  your  efforts  to  wake  the  public  mind  to  the  importance 
of  the  Society's  operations.  On  several  accounts  I  consider  them,  and 
especially  the  volume  circulation,  as  among  the  most  valuable  in  all 
the  brotherhood  of  benevolent  objects.  The  seed  thus  scattered  is  not 
liable  to  be  corrupted.  If  we  send  the  living  preacher,  he  may  become 
an  errorist  and  disseminate  tares;  but  the  influence  of  Baxter,  Dod- 
dridge, and  Edwards  will  be  against  irregularity  and  sin  in  every 
form,  and  the  fruit  they  produce  will  advance  the  honor  of  God  and 
the  best  interests  of  men.  Send  these  volumes  to  the  West,  and  you 
send  the  most  effectual  preventive  of  error.  Send  them  to  the  East, 
and  there  is  no  instrumentality  like  them  to  breathe  life,  and  perma- 
nent life  into  the  dead  forms  of  Protestant  Europe.  Next  to  the  Bible 
itself,  these  Volumes  will  be  the  leaven  to  pervade  the  whole  lump. 
May  the  Lord  direct  your  deliberations,  and  lead  to  such  measures  as 
will  effectually  awake  the  churches  to  the  importance  of  the  enterprise. 

Oa  Wednesday  evening  Rev.  Mr.  Cook  presented  the 
following  pgper. 


308  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


DOCUMENT  VII. 

Tlie.  Colporteur  System. 

1  As  adapted  to  the  uaevangelized  American  population. 

The  intelligent  mind,  apprehending  the  condition  of  the 
several  classes  of  society  in  this  land,  and  the  relations  of 
the  country  to  the  world,  cannot  but  feel  that  whatever 
else  is  done  or  neglected,  more  must  he  done  for  the  evan- 
gelization, of  America.  Our  very  existence  as  a  republic 
depends,  under  God,  on  the  intelligence  and  virtue  of  the 
masses  of  the  people;  and  our  influence  on  other  nations 
can  only  be  for  good,  in  proportion  to  the  prevalence  of 
the  Gospel  at  home.  To  leave  a  majorit}-,  or  a  large  mi- 
nority of  the  people,  in  ignorance  of  the  Gospel,  is  not  only 
suicidal,  but  detracts  from  the  symmetry  and  depth  of  that 
impression,  which,  as  a  seal  in  the  hand  of  God,  we  are 
destined  to  make  on  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

There  is  no  one  sentiment  in  which  the.  christian  com- 
munity are  m.ore  agreed  than  that  an  enlightened  ministry 
is  an  essential  instrumentality  of  evangelization.  But  the 
view  that  regards  this  as  the  only  agency,  cuts  ofT  all 
hope  in  respect  to  millions  of  the  present  generation,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  teeming  millions  of  the  future;  for  the 
men  and  the  means  to  educate  and  sustain  them  are  not  at 
hand  for  the  adequate  supply  of  the  spiritual  wants  of  a 
population  so  vast  and  scattered  as  our  own ;  and  if  they 
were,  the  half  of  the  existing  generation  of  the  unevangei- 
ized  must  perish  before  they  can  be  brought  into  the  field. 

Is  it  not  then  a  proper  subject  of  inquiry  whether  other 
egencies  may  not  be  brought  to  the  aid  of  the  ministry,  so 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  109 

that  their  lack  of  service  may  be  supplied,  and  in  some 
way  the  present  generation  be  reached  with  enough  of 
truth  to  guide  them  to  the  cross  1  Whether  humble,  pious 
men  in  the  common  walks  of  life  may  not  engage  in  seek- 
ing out  the  destitute;  and  in  these  fireside  conversations 
and  personal  entreaties,  and  the  diffusion  of  appropriate 
publications  which  God  has  so  abundantly  blessed,  gather 
from  the  more  hopeless  classes  many  who  might  otherwise 
perish?  And  whether  the  instructions  of  the  pious  dead 
may  not  be  made  available  where  the  living  preacher  has 
not  gone,  and  perhaps  for  years  will  not  penetrate?' 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact,  that  Missionaries  occupy  succes- 
sively the  more  prominent  and  populous  ports,  trenching 
but  slowly  in  a  country  of  rapid  growth  -upon  the  desola- 
tions of  the  country.  This  is  natural  and  right;  but  it  ne- 
cessarily leaves  the  very  destitute  scattered  population  al- 
most without  a  ray  of  light.  Some  system  is  indispensa- 
ble, that  goes  out  literally  into  the  highw^ays  and  hedges, 
and  carries  the  bread  of  life  to  the  famishing  multitude, 
who  either  cannot  or  will  not  come  to  the  gospel  supper. 
It  must  be  an  itinerating  system;  for,  especially  in  the 
newer  settlements,  the  people  live  far  apart  and  cannot  be 
brought  together  statedly  to  hear  the  word.  It  is  for  such 
a  class — the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  neglected  population  of 
our  wide  country,  that  the  Colporteur  System  is  espe- 
ciall}''  designed.  It  aims  to  carry  a  verbal  message  from 
Calvary  to  the  ear,  and  a  printed  message  to  the  eye  of  ev- 
ery one  of  these  wanderers  from  God  and  his  sanctuary. 
It  would  furnish  an  advance  guard,  a  corps  of  pioneers  for 
the  army  of  the  Lord.  It  would  keep  pace  with  the  onward 
wave  of  immigration  and  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants 
of  every  newly  formed  household.  It  seeks  to  subdue  the 
wild  mountaineer  by  the  presence  of  a  Felix  Neff,  and  to 
leave  for  his  daily  companionship  a  Baxter  or  a  Dod- 
dridge. And  on  what  principle  is  the  oblig'ation  enforced 
to  send  the  itinerant  missionary  to  the  mountains  of  Leba- 


110  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

non  or  Neilgherry  with  his  load  of  pious  books,  that  does 
not  demand  a  Colporteur  for  the  mountains  of  Kentucky  ? 
Why  to  the  plains  of  Siam  and  not  to  the  barrens  of  Geor- 
gia or  the  prairies  of  Missouri  ? 

There  is  a  power  of  adaptation  in  the  Colporteur  sys- 
tem, and  a  capacity  for  indefinite  expansion,  which  fits  it 
peculiarly  for  a  country  like  ours.  With  sufficient  discre- 
tion in  the  selection  of  men,  every  portion  of  the  country 
and  every  class  of  the  population  may  be  approached  in 
the  way  best  suited  to  the  great  object.  No  matter  how 
various  the  languages  or  sects,  each  may  be  made  to  hear 
and  read  in  his  own  tongue  the  wonderful  story  of  Redemp- 
tion. There  need  be  no  lirai?,  save  that  of  pecuniary  means 
to  the  multiplication  of  men  and  books,  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  reach  every  unevangelized  family  now  on  the  stage, 
within  a  reasonable  period,  with  two  of  the  most  effective 
means  of  good,  jjersonal  religious  conversation  and  the 
pious  counsels  of  the  best  authors  that  have  yet  lived. 

The  importance  of  the  Society's  volume  circulation  in 
families  and  congregations  enjoying  all  the  other  means 
of  grace,  has  been  universally  conceded:  and  it  has  re- 
ceived the  favor  and  co-operation  of  pastors  and  churches 
in  all  the  more  favored  parts  of  the  land,  to  an  extent  con- 
ferred on  scarcely  any  other  enterprise  of  the  Church.  Can 
there  be  any  more  doubt  that  an  incalculable  service  is 
done,  by  giving  to  domestic  missionaries  the  aid  of  pious 
books  in  all  the  families  of  their  congregations?  And  es- 
pecially those  congregations  that  enjoy  the  labors  of  a  mis- 
sionary only  on  alternate  Sabbaths,  or  one  Sabbath  out  of 
four  or  six.  But  there  are  hundreds  of  newly  gathered 
and  feeble  churches,  of  various  denominations,  scattered 
over  the  land,  which  are  w'ithout  pastors,  and  for  want  of 
men  and  m.eans  must  lono-  continue  so  ;  is  it  not  a  blessed 
work  for  the  Society  to  install  such  men  as  Baxter,  and  Fla- 
vel  and  Bunyan  in  such  vacant  pulpits,  and,  by  the  presence 
of  the  Colporteur,  call  into  exercise  whatever  of  active  piety 


THE    COLPORTEUR    SYSTEM.  Ill 

there  may  be  in  co-operation  wilh  his  labors  for  the  une- 
vangelized  around  them?  Besides,  a  considerable  portion 
of  all  who  hear  the  Gospel  in  the  distant  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, listen  to  that  which  is  hortatory  and  uninstructive, 
from  preachers  employed  in  secular  pursuits  six  days  of 
seven  in  each  week.  To  such  the  Bible  and  religious 
books,  in  simple  popular  language,  constitute  an  indispen- 
sable means  of  sound  gos-pel  instruction.  Other  means  of 
supplying  the  appropriate  books  than  the  Society's  travel- 
ling Agencies,  there  are  few  or  none;  and  if  there  were, 
the  personal  labors  of  the  Colporteur  would  be  needed  to 
form  and  foster  the  desire  to  possess  them.  Were  there 
no  other  benefii  from  the  Col/poricwr  system  than  the  fa- 
cilities it  affords  of  furnishing  means  of  grace,  and  know- 
ledge, and  usefulness  to  professing  christians  in  their  dis- 
persion, it  would  still  be  one  of  the  most  important  enter- 
prises in  which  the  Society  could  engage. 

But  it  has  a  much  wider  reach.  There  are  families  and 
individuals  here  and  there,  in  every  part  of  the  land,  and 
especially  in  the  sparsely  settled  states,  existing  in  total  ig- 
norance of  Christ  and  his  Salvation.  Not  a  ray  of  light 
from  above  has  ever  dawned  on  their  spiritual  vision.  Not 
a  message  of  mercy  has  ever  reached  their  ear.  The  Sab- 
bath brings  no  blessings  to  them.  The  Sanctuary  is  an  un- 
known place.  Heathen  in  a  christian  land !  It  is  feared 
that  the  aggregate  of  such  souls  would  equal  the  entire, 
unevangelized  population  abroad,  reached  directly  by  the 
influence  of  all  our  Foreign  Missionaries.  They  may  be 
found  scattered  through  the  pine  barrens  of  the  South, 
stretching  down  from  the  Delaware  Bay  to  the  Florida 
Keys:  on  the  mountain  ranges  dividing  the  east  from  the 
west,  from  the  northern  spire  of  the  Alleghany  to  the 
southern  slope  of  the  Cumberland;  on  the  sea-like  prairies 
and  primitive  forests  of  the  boundless  West,  indeed,  in  our 
crowded  cities  and  around  all  our  sanctuaries— millions 
who  fear  not  God,  and  to  \^hom  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 


112  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

lion  are  seldom  if  ever  proclaimed.  Shall  these  scattered 
millions  be  sought  out,  and  the  oral  and  printed  invitation 
be  given  to  them  to  come  to  Christ  ?  Is  there  wisdom  and 
benevolence  in  a  system  that  employs  men  to  incite  chris- 
tians of  every  name  to  share  in  the  self-denial  of  giving  to 
the  destitute;  or,  if  this  is  impracticable,  to  go  themselves 
to  the  homes  of  those  who  will  never  seek  the  light  ? 
And  on  what  principles  and  to  what  extent  shall  the  Com- 
mittee prosecute  these  labors?  They  respectfully  solicit 
the  attention  of  the  Board  to  the  whole  subject,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  following  questions  : 

1.  Shall  the  Committee  undertake  to  carry  forward  the 
Colporteur  system,  on  a  scale  suificiently  extended  to  reach, 
with  all  the  christian  co-operation  that  can  be  summoned, 
the  existing  generation  of  the  unevangelized  ? 

2.  In  prosecuting  the  work,  shall  the  Committee  instruct 
their  agents  to  give  one  of  the  cheap  volumes  like  Baxter's 
Call  to  every  family  destitute  of  all  religious  books  except 
the  Bible,  but  unable  or  unwilling  to  purchase  ?  And  shall 
an  appropriate  Tract  be  given  to  every  family? 

Mr.  COOK  proceeded  to  explain  the  Colporteur  system  in  its  adap- 
tation to  the  wants  of  the  destitute,  by  a  sketch  of  the  labors  of  a 
day,  in  visiting  sixty  families  residing  mostly  in  log-cabins  at  the 
West. 

Two  gentlemen  took  a  light  wagon  and  rode  forty  miles,  calling  at 
the  abodes  of  the  neglected  and  poor.  They  addressed  the  gate- 
keeper, the  market-man,  and  the  passing  traveller,  and  gave  Tracts 
to  all.  Passing  a  school-house,  one  of  them  stepped  among  the  boys 
gathered  before  it,  and  was  soon  surrounded  by  the  lads  all  eager  for 
the  little  children's  Tracts  held  in  his  hands.  After  supplying  them, 
he  called  the  larger  boys  to  the  wagon  and  supplied  them  with  Youth's 
Temperance  papers,  and  from  the  wagon-wheel  preached  a  sermon  to 
them  adapted  to  their  comprehension. 

Passing  on,  they  soon  came  to  a  log-cabin,  where  one  of  them  re- 
quested a  glass  of  water,  in  receiving  which  he  expressed  a  hope  that 
she  would  have  a  disciple's  reward.  This  opened  the  way  for  personal 
religious  conversation.  The  children  could  not  read,  though  the 
mother  could.     There  were  no  religious  books  in  the  house,  and  none 


THE   COLPORTETJE    SYSTEM.  113 

attended  church.  Selling  them  a  copy  of  Baxter's  Call,  and  pointing 
them  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  Colporteur  proceeded. 

Another  cabin  contained  a  sick  and  dying  man,  who  had  not  enjoy- 
ed the  visit  of  a  christian  for  two  years.  He  knew  that  he  must  die, 
and  had  no  hope.  After  placing  Baxter's  Call  and  appropriate  Tracts 
in  his  hand,  the  visiter  turned  to  the  wife  and  inquired  tenderly 
whether  she  was  prepared  for  the  trials  that  awaited  her.  She  con- 
fessed her  impenitence,  but  promised  to  read  the  book  left  for  herself, 
and  to  her  husband,  when  too  feeble  to  read  himself.  With  earnest  and 
solemn  entreaty  to  attend  without  delay  to  their  souls'  affairs,  the 
Colporteur  commended  them  to  God  in  prayer  and  left  them. 

Calling  at  another  cabin,  he  was  met  at  the  bars  by  a  girl  eleven 
years  old,  who  was  asked  if  she  could  read.  She  said,  No.  But  don't 
you  go  to  school!  No.  Nor  to  Sabbath  schooll  No.  Have  you  ever 
heard  about  God,  who  made  the  world  1  No.  Nor  of  Jesus  Christ 
who  redeemed  it!  No.  Do  you  think  you  are  a  sinner  I  No.  Do  you 
know  what  sin  isl  No.  But  don't  you  know  that  you  have  done 
wrong  ?  I  don't  think  I  have.  What  could  be  said  ]  There  was  not 
a  single  term  that  could  be  used  which  conveyed  any  meaning  to  that 
dark  mind.  A  heathen  in  a  christian  land  !  And  there  are  others, 
many  of  them.  The  Church  ought  to  know  it,  and  ought  to  spare  no 
effort  to  teach  them  the  v.'ay  of  life.  Now,  where  is  the  consistency 
of  sending  forth  men  to  spend  long  years  in  acquiring  difficult  lan- 
guages, and  crossing  dangerous  seas  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  be- 
nighted, when  here,  in  our  own  land,  there  are  multitudes  as  unin- 
formed of  the  way  of  salvation  as  the  far-off  islander  or  the  wandering 
Malay  !  I  would  not  lay  a  straw  in  the  way  of  efforts  to  evangelize 
the  heathen ;  I  would  rather  redouble  every  energy  put  forth  in  the 
missionary  work.  But  while  this  is  done,  for  the  sake  of  consistency, 
for  the  sake  of  souls,  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  let  us  not  leave  undone 
the  great  work  of  evangelization  at  home. 

The  document  was  referred  to  Charles  Butler,  Esq.  Rev.  Drs. 
Skinner  and  Hardenburgh,  Rev.  R.  K.  Rogers,  and  Rev.  E. 
Tucker,  who,  through  Mr.  Butler,  presented  a  report,  which, 
after  slight  amendments  suggested  by  Rev.  Dr.  Patton,  was 
adopted  and  referred  for  publication  as  follows: 


114  '^DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


REPORT. 

The  sul»jcct  is  one  of  overwhelming  interest  to  the  christian,  the 
philanthropist  and  patriot,  in  whatever  point  of  view  it  may  be  pre- 
sented. 

The  Colporteur  system  is  admirably  adapted  to  meet  the  need  of  our 
widely  extended  country,  and  the  Committee  hail  the  introduction  of 
it  by  the  American  Tract  Society  with  devout  gratitude  to  God.  In 
the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  it  may  be  employed  throughout  the  land, 
and  particularly  in  the  newer  States  and  Territories,  with  the  pros- 
pect of  accomplishing  the  greatest  good  with  comparatively  a  small 
expenditure  of  money. 

"  The  pulpit 
Must  stand  acknov/ledged,  while  the  world  shall  stand^ 
The  most  important  and  elFectual  guard. 
Support  and  ornament  of  virtue's  cause." 

But  then  the  fact,  solemn  as  it  is  true^  is  constantly  pressed  upon  us, 
that  "  t/ic  Messenger  of  Truth^^  has  not  heen  sent  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  needy  and  destitute  in  our  land — to  restore  the  weak — re- 
claim the  wanderer — bind  up  the  broken  heart,  and 

"  Armed  himself  in  panoply  complete, 
Of  heavenly  temper,  fm'nish  with  arms 
Bright  as  his  own,  and  train,  by  every  rule 
Of  holy  discipline,  to  glorious  war, 
The  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect." 

The  living  minister,  thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work,  is  not  sup- 
plied to  the  extent  that  is  needed.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  our 
countrymen  are  living  and  dying  without  the  means  of  grace,  with- 
out once  hearing  of  the  way  of  salvation.  And  the  entire  present 
generation  of  our  unevangelized  population  is  passing  on  rapidly  and 
surely  to  the  grave,  with  scarcely  a  ray  of  hope  to  lighten  up  the 
darkness  of  the  tomb,  and  the  numbers  are  augmenting  daily.  Can 
we  look  upon  such  a  scene  with  indifference  1  We  know  that  chris- 
tian hearts  bleed  in  view  of  the  destitution  of  our  own  country  ;  and 
we  know  that  sympathies  are  enlisted  and  efforts  are  made  to  send 
the  Gospel  to  the  perishing  ;  but  then  we  feel  that  all  our  efforts  and 
acrencies  are  utterly  inadequate,  and  come  short  of  the  great  object  to 
be  effected.  A  few  may  be  saved  by  these  efforts,  but  how  many  are  left 
to  perish  !    "  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers  are  few." 

The    Committee  believe,  that  in  answer  to  the   prayers  of  the 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  115 

Church,  God  in  his  grace  has  sent  to  us  this  Colporteur  Svstem,  lo 
enable  us  to  supply  the  needful  laborers  to  work  in  his  harvest-field. 
The  Committee  desire  to  recognize  the  hand  of  the  great  I^ord  of  the 
harvest  in  devising  a  plan  (second  only  to  the  stated  ministry)  by 
which  the  harvest  may  be  gathered. 

The  plan  is  one  of  practical  interest  ;  and  is  commended  for  its 
efficiency,  its  cheapness,  its  directness,  and  its  comprehensiveness.  It 
is  suited  exactly  to  the  object  sought  to  be  attained,  and  if  carried 
out  thoroughly,  as  it  ought  to  be,  every  settler  upon  the  boundless 
and  sea-like  prairie — every  inmate  of  a  log  cabin  in  the  densest  forest 
of  the  West,  every  wanderer  from  his  own  and  native  land,  who  has 
hither  directed  his  steps  to  a  new  home — every  immigrant,  who  with 
his  wife,  his  sons  and  his  daughters,  have  just  planted  ihemselves.in 
some  place  remote  from  human  habitations,  far  away  from  the  sound 
of  the  churchgoing  bell,  may  find  the  Colporteur  waiting  for  hini 
there,  to  welcome  him  with  a  message  of  peace  and  salvation. 

The  Colporteurs  will  be  found  by  the  way-side,  and  in  the  great 
thoroughfares,  and  upon  the  steamers,  and  the  railroad-cars,  and 
wherever  the  tide  of  emigration  is  setting,  distributing  the  precious 
seed  they  bear,  as  angels  of  mercy  to  the  vv  eary  traveller. 

The  Colporteur,  engaged  in  his  v.-ork  with  the  spirit  of  his  Master, 
appears  to  us  to  be  a7i  indis-pensoUe  instrument  in  carrying  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  unevangelized  population  of  our  ov.'n  country.  The  Com- 
mittee can  hardly  conceive  of  any  olhcr  way  in  which  it  can  all  be 
reached;  and  if  all  the  young  men  now  prosecuting  their  studies  for  the 
ministry  in  all  the  seminaries  of  the  land,  were  to  be  baptized  with  a 
fervent  missionary  spirit,  (and  God  grant  they  may  be,)  with  the  spirit 
of  Paul,  and  Brainerd,  and  Martyn,  and  were  to  go  into  the  Western 
field,  they  would  be  as  a  handful  of  men,  and  we  should  yet  have  to 
exclaim,  "The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers  are  few  ; 
pray  ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest." 

To  meet  this  exigency,  the  Colporteur  system  comes  to  our  aid, 
and  carries  the  cup  of  Salvation  to  perishing  thousands,  who  are  in  a 
dry  and  thirsty  land,  where  no  water  is. 

With  such  views,  the  Committee  respond  to  the  sentiments  con- 
tained in  the  Report  submitted  to  them,  and  they  would  earnestly  and 
cordially  urge  upon  the  Executive  Committee, 

1.  To  carry  forward  as  fast  as  the  Providence  of  God  shall  seem-  to 
direct,  the  Colporteur  system,  with  the  view  of  reaching,  as  soon  as 
practicable,  the  existing  generation  of  the  unevangelized  in  our  own 
country  ;  and, 


116  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

2.  In  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  to  instruct  their  agents  (the 
Colporteurs)  to  give  one  of  the  cheap  volumes,  like  Baxter's  Call,  to 
every  family  destitute  of  all  religious  books  except  the  Bible,  and  who 
are  unable  and  unwilling  to  purchase,  and  to  give  at  least  an  appro- 
priate Tract  to  every  family. 

And  the  Committee  believe,  that  in  the  prosecution  of  a  scheme,  so 
benevolent,  and  so  divine,  the  Society  may  rely  upon  the  blessing  of 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  the  sympathies  and  co-operation  of 
evcrij  friend  of  the  Redeemer. 

Mr.  BUTLER  proceeded  briefly  to  present  a  striking  view  of  the 
moral  condition  of  the  West,  drawn  from  his  own  observations  made 
during  several  extensive  tours.  He  adverted  to  the  gigantic  efforts 
now  making  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  especially  to  a  new  though 
perhaps  not  very  well  digested  plan  for  colonizing  Irish  Catholics  in 
the  West  ;  he  thought  the  colporteur  system  indispensable  in  bringing 
the  Gospel  to  bear  on  the  West  with  sufficient  particularity  and 
power  to  counteract  opposing  influences,  and  save  our  destitute  popu- 
lation and  our  country  from  ruin. 

R,ev.  Dr.  MILNOR  said  that  he  perfectly  accorded  with  the  senti- 
ments of  the  Report.  He  had  no  doubt  that  the  Colporteur  system 
would  be  attended  with  great  good,  not  only  as  the  result  of  the 
labors  of  the  agents  of  this  Society,  bui  in  leading  christians  of  all 
denominations  to  take  means  to  enlist  a  like  agency  to  assist  the 
ministry  in  various  departments  of  labor.  An  impression,  he  said,  had 
prevailed  that  all  effort  for  the  conversion  of  men  must  be  confined  to 
the  ministry  alone  ;  and  no  doubt  there  are  some  duties  which  belong 
exclusively  to  those  who  have  been  ordained  to  that  work ;  but  he 
was  happy  to  learn  that  the  idea  of  employing  these  assistants  to  the 
ministry  had  heei)  adopted  here,  and  was  about  to  be  carried  into  ex- 
tensive operation.  We  have  been  interested  with  the  working  of 
this  system  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  And  in  Ireland  we  know 
they  have  employed  something  of  the  same  system  in  a  class  of  men 
v\ho  are  sent  out  to  read  the  Scriptures  to  those  who  cannot  read 
themselves.  These  men,  though  uneducated,  have  the  grace  of  God 
in  their  hearts,  and  are  competent  to  drop  a  word  of  counsel  and 
make  inquiries  as  to  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  families  they  visit. 
Our  laborers  being  better  educated,  will  doubtless  be  more  useful. 

Dr.  M.  had  been  exceedingly  pleased  to  see  that  in  Great  Britain  a 
large  society  had  been  formed,  of  which  Bishops  are  officers  and 
})atrons,  and  whose  funds  already  amount  to  50,000  or  60,000  pounds 
a  year,  called  the  Pastoral  Aid  Society,  the  object  of  which  is  to  afford 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  117 

Pastors  assistance  in  the  care  of  large  and  scattered  congregations 
where  their  income  is  small  and  their  labors  are  great.  This  is  done 
in  some  cases  by  furnishing  curates  and  in  others  lay  helpers,  who, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  pastor,  may  go  from  house  to  house 
among  the  cottagers,  ascertain  their  wants,  give  them  a  word  of  use- 
ful counsel,  and  report  to  the  pastor  the  results  of  their  labors.  If  we 
look  to  the  early  days  of  the  Church,  among  the  acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, we  find  that  they  employed  laymen  and  lay  women  to  assist  them 
in  the  great  work  of  bringing  sinners  to  Christ. 

Dr.  Milnor  read  from  the  London  Christian  Observer  an  interesting 
instance  of  the  effects  of  the  labors  of  a  colporteur  in  Europe,  and 
concluded  with  a  very  earnest  commendation  of  this  cause  as  eminent- 
ly calculatedj  under  discreet  management,  to  be  useful  in  this  country. 

Letter  from  Hon.  Roger  Minot  S}i£rman,  Fairfield,  Conn. 

"  We  cannot  neglect  our  country's  highest  interests  without  incur- 
ring aggravated  guilt.  In  one  important  respect  we  differ  from  other 
nations.  We  are  in  our  infancy,  and  apparently  appointed  to  higher 
destinies  than  aiiy  other  people.  A  vast  proportion  of  the  immense 
regions  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  the  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  is  still  in  a  state  of  nature  ;  presenting,  with  the  portions  al- 
ready occupied,  the  noblest  theatre  for  men  of  any  part  of  the  globe. 
And  such  is  our  government,  that  the  millions  of  this  population  are 
to  sway  the  sceptre,  and  by  them  its  immense  power  is  to  be  wielded, 
and  its  influence  exerted  for  good  and  for  evil,  both  over  their  own 
and  other  nations  of  the  earth. 

"The  importance  oi  early  influences  in  forming  the  character  of 
such  a  people  surpasses  estimation.  Their  numbers,  now,  are  com- 
paratively few.  The  moral  force  of  the  settled  portions  of  the  United 
States,  if  put  in  operation,  can  now  mould  the  character  of  those  in- 
teresting settlements,  in  their  rapid  progress  from  a  few  log  cabins  to 
a  populous  town  or  great  commercial  city.  Without  these  influences 
christian  character  is  never  formed,  either  in  individuals  or  nations. 

"  When  these  already  numerous  settlements  are  multiplied  ;  when 
they  become  robust  in  principles  and  habits  adverse  to  the  infl'uences 
of  morals  and  piety,  they  will  not  only  resist  all  means  for  their  own 
reformation,  but  exert  a  counter  influence  on  future  infant  settlements 
which  will  baffle  the  benevolent  efforts  of  those  who  come  after  us 
When  we  compare  each  ten  years  census  with  that  which  preceded  it 
(the  population  of  the  West  nearly  doubling  every  ten  years,)  when 
we  look  upon  the  vast  fields  now  occupied  by  a  busv  and  prosperous 
population,  which  but  yesterday  were  the  lonely  habitations  of  beasts 

7 


118  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

end  savage  men ;  when  from  this  we  foresee  the  advancements  whick 
the  next  half  century  is  to  make,  and  consider  the  prevalence  of  reck- 
lessness and  infidelity,  and  of  a  superstition  more  corrupting  in  its 
tendencies  and  less  susceptible  of  remedy  than  infidelity  itself,  sus- 
tained by  wealth  and  power,  can  we  doubt  the  supremacy  of  our  obli- 
gations to  our  own  country  ]  Do  not  its  wants  greatly  exceed  the 
means  hitherto  applied  I  Is  not  the  field  enlarging  in  a  ratio  to  which 
the  provisions  for  its  culture  bear  no  just  proportion  1  The  Bible,  the 
Minister,  the  Schoolmaster,  the  Volume,  the  Tract,  every  appropriate 
means  for  enlightening  and  evangelizing  our  Western  population 
should  be  bountifully  supplied,  as  a  primary  duty  of  American  chris- 
tians. 

Letter  from  Rt.  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith,  Kalorama,  Ken, 

"It  is  one  of  the  great  privations  of  my  position  and  my  duties,  that 
I  cannot  share  in  the  precious  influences  of  such  animating  Assem- 
blies. Yet  every  such  occasion  for  special  intercession  is  most  wel- 
come to  me,  and  on  Tuesday  of  next  week  I  shall  be  present  with 
you  in  spirit.  May  He  whose  spiritual  presence  is  really  good  for 
something,  much  more  be  present  with  you. 

*'Any  further  communication  from  my  pen  will  be  better  through 
the  press.  Yet  I  cannot  refrain,  should  this  letter  reach  you  in  sea- 
son, to  reiterate  the  plea  for  the  poor  mountaineers,  and  the  specific 
form  in  which  I  present  it,  is,  cannot  you  send  us  one  of  your  most 
self-sacrificing  and  devoted  Colporteurs  with  a  small  pious  family,  to 
devote  himself  to  the  valley  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Cumberland,  re- 
turning on  his  own  track  once  in  three  months,  for  a  series  of  years ! 
Thank  God,  my  printed  appeal  has  stirred  up  a  teacher  and  lady  in 
Middletown,  Md.  to  correspond  with  me  on  the  subject.  What  it  will 
lead  to,  and  whether  they  have  really  counted  the  cost  remains  yet  to 
be  seen.  The  only  hope  of  a  lost  world  is,  that  the  Savior  lives, 
and  loves  souls  with  an  intensity  of  which  our  most  fervent  zeal  is 
but  a  cold  scintillation.'* 

Letter  from  Rev.  J.  T.  Brooh,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

**I  have  only  time  to  express  my  regret  that  I  cannot  attend  your 
meeting,  and  my  deep  interest  in  the  object  for  which  it  has  been 
called.  You  know  my  high  estimation  of  the  Tract  cause,  both  as  an 
efficient  agency  for  promoting  the  Gospel  and  as  a  public  bond  of  union 
among  christians.  And  I  should  esteem  it  a  high  privilege  to  be  per- 
mitted to  stand  upon  your  platform  with  representatives  from  different 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  119 

branches  of  the  Christian  Church  and  unite  my  feeble  voice  with  theirs 
in  advancing  the  'common  Salvation.' 

**  What  is  to  become  of  a  large  portion  of  the  population  of  this  im- 
mense valley  unless  faithful  colporteurs  are  sent  to  their  doors,  leaving 
your  publications  1  Many  of  them  must  perish  in  heathenish  darkness 
in  the  midst  of  a  christian  land  !  and  who  will  have  to  answer  for  it? 
Let  every  professed  christian  see  to  it  that  he  have  a  good  excuse  for 
withholding  his  hand  from  such  an  opportunity  of  doing  good  unto  all 
men,  and  bearing  his  part  in  the  duty  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature." 

Letter  from  William  H.  Bulkley,  President  of  the  Young  Men's  Tract 
Society,  Louisville,  Ken, 

"  •  The  voice  of  the  West  ought  to  be  heard,'  and  it  will  be  heard, 
in  a  very  few  years,  for  good  or  for  evil,  speaking  out  in  thunder  tones 
to  this  great  nation.  It  is  no  vain  boast  that  the  West  is  soon  to  gov- 
ern this  country.  The  more  I  reflect  upon  Western  character  and  up- 
on the  influences  which  are  at  work  here  for  evil,  the  more  important 
do  I  consider  the  eflfort  of  your  Society  to  evangelize  this  mighty  mass 
of  minds. 

"  I  can  assure  you.  my  dear  brother,  that  in  this  work  you  shall  have 
not  only  my  hearty  co-operation,  but  also  that  of  the  Society  over 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside. 

"  Our  Society  is  increasing  in  numbers  and  widening  its  field  of  use- 
fulness. Wc  have  it  in  contemplation  to  establish  several  district 
prayer  meetings  in  the  more  destitute  portions  of  our  city.  It  is  grat- 
ifying to  know  that  the  influence  of  our  Society  has  already  been"  felt 
in  starting  into  existence  a  Youth's  Tract  Society." 

Rev.  Mr.  Eastman,  one  of  the  Secretaries,  read  a  continuation 
of  the  document  on  the  Colporteur  system,  as  adapted  to 

II.   Our  German  Population, 

The  attention  of  the  Board  is  requested  to  the  German  population 
whose  rapid  immigration,  if  not  an  occasion  of  alarm  to  the  patriot,  is 
at  least  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  christian. 

The  number  of  Germans  in  this  country  is  variously  estimated  at 
from  1,500,000  to  3,000,000.  They  constitute  nearly  one-fourth  of 
the  population  of  the  cities  at  the  W^est,  and  not  less  than  one-tenth 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  land,  with  an  unprecedented  increase 
the  present  year.    The  abundance  and  cheapness  of  land  ;  the  com- 


120  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

paratively  high  price  of  labor  and  freedom  from  taxation,  will  continue 
to  swell  the  tide. 

We  leave  to  others  to  canvass  the  probable  bearings  on  our  political 
institutions  of  the  influx  of  a  foreign  population,  sufficiently  lar^e 
already  to  hold  the  balance  of  power  between  parties  ;  a  portion  of 
■whom  owe  allegiance  to  a  foreign  despotism;  necessarily  ignorant 
of  our  government  and  its  laws;  having  a  public  sentiment  of  their 
own,  which,  by  difference  of  language,  is  slowly  affected  by  Ameri- 
can public  sentiment;  exercising  the  right  of  suffrage  at  a  very 
early  period  of  their  residence;  liable  to  be  made  the  prey  of  de 
signing  demagogues ;  jealous  of  newly  acquired  rights,  which  may 
be  poorly  understood,  and  which  may  be  contested  by  an  equally 
jealous  native  population.  There  may  be  danger  from  these  sources, 
neither  unreal  nor  remote.  But  with  all  this  we  have  nothing  to  do, 
only  as  there  is  an  inseparable  coincidence  between  the  means  of 
enlightening  and  saving  the  souls  of  a  people,  and  their  preparation 
for  enjoying  and  perpetuating  our  free  institutions.  If  the  apprehen- 
sion of  danger  be  not  groundless,  ihe  only  way  to  avert  it  is  to  give 
the  Gospel  in  their  own  language  and  its  blessed  institutions  to  the 
ivhole  population.  And  if  it  is,  still  motives  of  infinitely  greater 
weight  press  upon  us,  in  view  of  dangers  that  take  hold  on  eternity, 
to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  Germans.  If  American  christians  do  not 
provide  for  their  spiritual  wants,  who  will  ? 

Discouraging  as  are  many  of  the  aspects  in  which  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  this  population  may  be  viewed,  and  little  as  is  now  done 
for  their  improvement,  who  can  resist  the  conviction  that  God  has 
sent  them  to  our  shores  to  be  evangelized — to  have  conferred  upon 
them  blessings  which  either  could  not  or  would  not  have  been  given 
them  at  home.  Wo  be  to  us  if  we  misinterpret  or  disregard  this 
gracious  behest  of  Providence  ! 

THE    GERMANS    ARE    INTELLIGENT. 

It  is  a  memorable  fact — indicating,  perhaps,  the  principal  agency 
to  be  employed  for  their  benefit — that  all,  or  nearly  all  the  Germans 
can  read.  Providence  has  so  ordered  it,  that  throughout  Prussia  and 
most  of  Germany  parents  are  compelled  to  send  their  children  to 
school,  from  the  age  of  four  to  twelve;  and  if  a  recruit  enters  the 
Prussian  army  who  cannot  read,  he  is  at  once  instructed.  But 
while  this  is  true,  and  while  Germany  has  '^  nearly  as  many  authors 
as  readers,"  few  of  the  books  of  this  century  are  either  free  from 
rationalistic  sentiment,  or  written  in  a  style  for  popular  circulation ; 


THE    COLPORTEUR    SYSTEM.  321 

and  very  few  who  emigrate  are  supplied  with  profitable  reading. 
Here  and  there  "  Arndt's  True  Christianity,"  or  the  works  of  Stil- 
ling may  be  found ;  but  the  great  mass  of  Germans  are  destitute  of 
books,  and  will  be,  unless  the  hand  of  christian  philanthropy  sup- 
plies them.  The  taste  for  reading  is  kept  alive,  to  some  extent,  by 
the  periodical  press  ;  but,  with  some  honorable  exceptions,  the  poli- 
tical papei-s  in  the  German  language  do  not  favor,  while  many  open- 
ly oppose  a  spiritual  religion.  Few,  if  any,  books  for  the  young,  of  a 
religious  character,  are  published  here,  or  imported  from  abroad. 

From  this  statement  it  will  be  seen  how  vast  and  encouraging  a 
field  is  open  before  this  Society.  On  it  rests  peculiarly  the  respon- 
sibility  of  furnishing  a7i  evangelical  German  literature  for  young 
and  old,  suited  to  the  wants  of  a  million  of  readers  now  in- 
habiting the  West,  to  say  nothing  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  Eastern  Stales,  or  of  the  millions  that 
will  soon  follow  their  friends  and  fellow-countrymen  to  this  "land 
of  the  free."  The  long  and  tedious  process  of  reducing  a  language 
to  wi-iting,  or  acquiring  it  when  written,  has  not  to  be  gone  through 
with  before  a  beginning  can  be  made ;  nor  have  you  to  wait  for  a 
generation  of  readers  to  grow  up  under  the  culture  of  mission- 
schools,  at  vast  expense.  The  whole  process  of  elementary  instruction 
is  performed  to  our  hand  by  their  former  governments ;  but  if  we 

WAIT  TILL  THIS  GENERATION  PASSES  FROM  THE  STAGE,  THIS  PRO- 
CESS MUST  BE  REPEATED  BEFORE  THEY  CAN  BE  BROUGHT  INTO  AS 
FAVORABLE     A    POSITION    FOR    EVANGELIZATION    AS    WE     NOW   FIND 

THEM.  Shall  we  forego  this  advantage,  when  the  cost  of  elementary 
instruction  for  the  next  generation  will  be  ten  times  as  great  as  that 
ofproviding  the  existing  population  with  the  means  of  salvation? 
Adequate  means  for  the  instruQtion  of  children  are  neglected  in  their 
efforts  to  acquire  property  for  them ;  and  what  motive  will  there  be 
for  parents  to  employ  these  means,  il'  they  have  not  books  for  their 
own  and  their  children's  use  ?   Delay  will  be  ruin. 

The  Society's  books  and  Tracts  are  admirably  suited  to  the  po- 
pular German  mind.  They  are  solemn,  fervid  and  practical.  In  the 
German  language  and  dress  they  will  be  read  by  Romanists  and  Pro- 
testanls.  A  gentleman  who  is  familiar  with  the  German  character 
said  that  "  he  had  lent  a  copy  of  Pilgrim's  Progress  until  it  was  li- 
terally read  up;  and  if  he  had  twenty  copies  they  would  be  read 
up."  "  Put  these  books,"  said  he,  "  in  a  popular  form,  and  there  is 
not  a  family  that  will  not  take  and  read  them." 

Bat  it  is  not  enough  to  publish  them :  they  must  be  carried  to 
every  German  family.  Colporteurs,  speaking  their  language  and 
understanding  their  character,  must  be  employed  to  accomplish  for 


122  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

that  population  what  we  are  attempting  for  our  own.  A  few  such 
laborers  have  been  found ;  and  God  will  raise  up  others  in  sufficient 
numbers,  and  of  suitable  qualiiicationSj  to  carry  forward  this  work 
on  any  scale  that  you  may  project,  or  the  christian  community  sus- 
tain. If  attempted  in  the  right  spirit,  and  by  the  right  men,  it  will 
be  welcomed  by  many  as  the  beginning  of  brighter  days  ;  it  will  re- 
ceive the  divine  benediction ;  it  will  lead  the  way  for  other  enter- 
prises in  their  behalf;  and  our  country  may  ultimately  rejoice  in  the 
accession  to  her  population  of  millions  of  industrious,  sober,  intelli- 
gent, Americanized,  christian  Germans. 

O,  had  Luther  and  his  compeers  enjoyed  such  facilities  as  we 
possess  of  giving  the  Germans  a  pure  and  uncorrupted  Gospel,  how 
speedy,  and  bloodless,  and  complete  would  have  been  the  great  Re- 
formation !  With  the  light  of  the  successes  and  mistakes  of  the  Re- 
formers before  us,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  church  to  in- 
struct us;  with  the  accumulated  treasures  of  the  knowledge  and  piety 
of  centuries  in  our  possession,  and  abundant  means  for  their  diffu- 
sion ;  with  every  motive  of  patriotism,  philanthropy  and  benevo- 
lence impelling  us,  what  should  prevent  the  speedy  evangelization 
of  this  inteiesting  people  ? 

The  Committee  regard  this  subject  as  one  worthy  of  the  profound 
consideration  of  the  Board  ;  and  they  solicit  for  it  the  attention  its 
importance  demands. 

Rev.  Dr.  DE  WITT,  of  New-York,  said  that  he  thought  the  subject 
presented  by  the  paper  demanded  careful  and  interested  attention. 
The  living  preacher,  however  superior  in  his  influence,  was  not  all 
that  was  needed  to  spread  the  Gospel  in  a  country  like  our  own.  Pas- 
toral labor  is  not  adequate  to  our  wants.  There  are  souls  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  pastor's  voice,  and  in  regions  where  this  expensive  agen- 
cy cannot  be  supported.  In  this  system  there  is  a  happy  combina- 
tion of  the  living  ministry  and  preaching  by  means  of  the  press. 
Avenues  are  opened,  the  word  is  distributed,  and  the  blessing  of  the 
Spirit  sought  to  rest  upon  it. 

The  great  and  vital  cause  of  domestic  missions  requires  such  an 
auxiliary  as  this  proposed  system  of  Colporteurs.  Unlike  the  physical 
nature,  where  hunger  is  created  by  deprivation,  the  hunger  of  the 
soul  is  least  felt  where  the  destitution  is  greatest.  As  these  pioneers 
go  into  the  sparse  settlements  of  the  West,  they  awaken  this  appetite 
for  the  word,  and  their  efforts  are  preparing  the  way  for  the  living 
ministry. 

The  interesting  class  of  our  population  referred  to  in  the  paper  dif- 
fer from  us  in  language,  butare  one  with  us  in  citizenship  and  social 


THE   COLPORTEITR   SYSTEM.  12 


f> 


and  political  destiny.  As  the  leaven  in  the  meal  leavens  the  whole 
Jump  till  it  becomes  homogeneous,  so  in  this  comitry  the  various  kin- 
dreds and  tongues,  interests  and  prejudices,  are  all  to  be  brought  into 
harmony  and  concord  only  by  the  power  of  the  same  Gospel  preached 
unto  all.  This  system  is  adapted  to  the  Germans  particularly.  They 
generally  settle  in  little  neighborhoods,  the  early  character  of  which 
gives  tone  and  character  to  all  the  after-increase  of  population.  How- 
shall  we  reach  those  who  differ  from  us  so  widely  1  Only  by  bringing 
the  Gospel  into  contact  with  them,  in  all  its  simplicity  and  power,  in 
their  own  language.  There  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  it  will  be 
.attended  with  success. 

Dr.  De  Wilt  made  an  affecting  allusion  to  the  lamented  Rudy, 
pastor  of  the  German  church,  New- York,  and  introduced  his  successor, 

Rev.  Mr.  GULDIN,  who  remarked  that  this  department  of  the  So- 
ciety's operations  had  a  special  interest  to  him.  He  was  a  German 
himself,  raised  in  the  German  church,  and  for  twenty-two  years  a 
minister  among  them.  He  first  remarked  upon  the  field  itself  which 
the  Society  proposed  to  occupy,  ft  was  one  of  great  importance  and 
promise.  And  this  for  several  reasons.  Take  their  numbers.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  are  at  least  one  million  of  Germans  in  this 
country.  This  is  unquestionably  much  below  the  reality,  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  old  settlers,  and  this  number  is  increased  by  the  constant 
flood  of  immigration. 

Their  spiritual  condition  renders  them  worthy  objects  of  sympathy 
and  attention.  True  religion,  in  its  vital,  saving  power,  is  but  too 
little  known  among  them.  They  are  a  half  century  in  the  rear  of 
their  English  neighbors. 

Consider  the  moral  influence  which  the  conversion  and  the  zealous 
devotion  of  this  immense  mass  would  exert  in  the  cause  of  Christ — 
even  upon  Germany  itself — and  upon  our  own  land.  Where  is  there  a 
people  among  all  the  millions  of  the  Gentiles  which  will  sooner  or 
more  surely  repay  the  effort  to  save  them — or  where  is  the  island  of 
the  sea  which  presents  a  more  important  field  than  this ! 

Now  is  the  most  important  and  favorable  period  to  exert  a  religious 
influence  among  the  Germans.  The  character  of  the  new  settlements 
they  are  forming  so  rapidly  at  the  West  must  soon  be  detarmined. 
There  are  men  among  them — men  of  mind  and  powerful  influence — - 
who  will  be  certain  to  lead  them  to  infidelity,  if  there  be  no  counter- 
acting influence  exerted.  The  West  is  full  of  soul-destroying  errors 
Universalism,   Catholicism,    Mormonism,    Campbellism,  all    lie    in 


124  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

wait  to  decoy,  mislead,  and  ruin  the  poor  Germans,  They  are  now 
just  in  that  excitable,  plastic,  moulding  state,  produced  by  their  resi- 
dence in  a  new  country,  in  the  midst  of  strange  customs,  languages 
and  habits  ;  and  the  impress  now  left  upon  them  will  probably  be 
permanent.  The  present  state  of  things  cannot  last  long.  The  Ger- 
man character  will  soon  be  formed.  If  the  Church  suffers  error  to  go 
in  advance  of  her  efforts,  they  will  be  almost  unavoidably  drawn  into 
the  meshes  of  ruin. 

The  plan  of  reaching  this  vast  population  by  means  of  a  sys- 
tem of  Colporteurs  is  admirably  adapted.  The  Germans  are  la- 
mentably destitute  of  competent  ministers.  In  Pennsylvania,  minis- 
ters are  obliged  to  preach  to  several  congregations — five,  six,  and 
sometimes  even  ten — reaching  the  different  churches  once  in  three, 
four,  or  six  weeks.  Of  course,  this  leaves  a  vast  number  with  little  or 
no  means  of  religious  instruction.  If  they  are  not  reached  by  some 
such  itinerating  scheme  as  this,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  they 
can  be. 

The  above  Document  was  referred  to  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt,  Rev. 
Mr.  Guldin,  and  Rev.  James  W.  Cooke. 

Letter  from  Rev.  B.  Sears,  Prof.  Theol.  Sem.  Newlon,  Mass. 

"  Allow  me  to  express  the  great  confidence  I  feel  that  the  German 
population,  both  of  this  and  the  mother  country,  may  be  reached  and 
essentially  benefited  by  the  method  which  you  propose.  The  Ger- 
mans are  a  serious  people,  and  very  accessible,  and  have  minds  not 
only  of  great  simplicity,  but  of  depth  of  feeling.  True,  if  you  directly 
assail  their  religious  system,  as  taught  in  the  symbolical  books  writ- 
ten by  the  Reformers  themselves,  they  will  appear  to  be  unsuscepti- 
ble of  impression.  And  who  can  have  a  heart  to  complain  of  the  ve- 
neration, even  of  those  tainted  with  Rationalism,  for  a  system  of 
evangelical  religion,  which,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  the  great 
light  of  Christendom  1  Does  not  the  very  fact  of  a  remaining  attach- 
ment to  the  old  religion  of  their  fathers  as  better  than  their  own,  and 
the  additional  fact  that  the  German  language  is  rich  in  old  as  well  as 
more  recent  works  of  a  standard  character  on  practical  religion,  go  far 
to  show  that  there  are  peculiar  facilities  for  the  operation  of  just  such 
a  system  of  effort  as  you  contemplate  ?  I  have  taken  some  special 
interest  in  the  religious  state  of  the  German  residents  in  this  vicinity, 
and  have  always  found  them  very  eager  for  German  religious  books. 
I  have  this  very  day  received  a  request  of  the  kind  for  any  thing  in 
the  shape  of  an  old  German  book.    I  sympathize  most  deeply  with 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  125 

you  in  your  whole  enterprise,  and  particularly  in  this  branch  of  it  I 
shall  always  stand  ready  to  do  any  thing  in  my  power  to  aid  you." 

Letter  from  Rev.  John  W.  Neviriy  Prof.  Marshall  {German  Ref.) 
College,  Mercersburg,  Pa.^^j^ 

CLAIMS  OF  THE  DESTITUTE    OF  OUR  COUNTRY. 

"  I  have  read  your  Circular  with  attention,  and  also  your  •  Report 
of  a  Western  Tour.'  No  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  condition  and 
prosperity  of  our  country  can  fail  to  feel  that  the  work  contemplated. 
in  this  movement  is  one  of  vast  incalculable  importance.  The  value 
of  the  Colporteur  system  has  been  abundantly  tested  in  other  lands, 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  brought  to  bear  with  equal 
effect  on  the  destitutions  of  this  country.  We  have  wide  districts,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  land,  which  cannot  be  effectually  reached  with 
evangelical  instruction  in  any  other  way,  to  say  nothing  of  the  whole 
Slates  in  the  far  West,  fast  springing  into  importance,  for  whose  wants 
the  system  might  seem  to  have  been  expressly  contrived. 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  that  so  much  attention  is  likely  to  be  directed, 
in  this  enterprise,  to  the  wants  of  the  German  population.  The  sys- 
tem proposed  is  eminently  suited  to  their  case,  and  if  extended  on  a 
scale  commensurate  with  its  demands,  cannot  fail  to  yield  a  rich  har- 
vest. This  population  is  already  very  great,  and  is  destined  to  swell 
to  a  vastly  greater  volume  still  by  yearly  emigration  from  the  father 
land.  Scattered,  v.ithout  a  ministry  to  a  great  extent,  and  without 
ecclesiastical  connection,  confounding  the  idea  of  religious  liberty  with 
that  of  an  entire  independence  of  Church  control,  and  more  or  less 
occupied  with  errors  subversive  of  the  Gospel  itself,  thousands  of  these 
foreigners  seem  cut  off  from  the  hope  of  religious  improvement  alto- 
jjelher,  unless  they  can  be  reached  in  some  such  way  as  that  which 
is  here  proposed.  It  will  not  do  to  leave  such  a  mass  of  mind  in  the 
bosom  of  the  country  to  take  care  of  itself.  It  will  not  do  to  wait 
till  the  partition-wall  of  its  language  shall  have  fallen  away.  To  a 
christian  people  who  are  willing,  at  vast  expense,  to  send  the  Gospel 
across  the  ocean  to  nations  of  strange  lip  and  tongue,  it  should  be  a 
light  thing  surely  to  break  through  the  barriers  of  the  German  lan- 
guage at  home,  in  order  to  reach  a  field  so  full  of  interest  and  promise 
as  that  which  here  courts  their  missionary  zeal. 

"  The  German  interest  in  this  country  is  destined  to  exert  in  time 
a  great  influence  on  Germany  itself.  It  forms  the  medium  by  which 
mainly  America  is  to  be  held  in  communication  with  that  section  of 

7 


126  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Europe,  and  to  be  felt  on  its  spirit  and  life  ;  as  it  is  the  medium  also 
by  which,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  we  must  as  a  people  come  more  and 
more  into  living  contact  with  the  force  of  this  foreign  spirit,  as  a 
moulding  agency  in  the  formation  of  our  own  character." 

Letter  from  Rev.  Professor  C.  E.  Stowe,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 

"  The  accompanying  letters  of  our  German  brethren,  Messrs, 
Schmucker  and  Nast,  will  inform  you  as  to  what  has  already  been 
done  in  the  way  of  Colportage  among  the  Germans  in  this  city.  The 
attempt  succeeds  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations.  The  Ger- 
man Lutheran  ministers  encourage  it  from  their  pulpits,  and  the  Ca- 
tholic priests  denounce  it ;  and  both  seem  thus  far  to  help  the  work 
forward.  We  had  a  meeting  at  Rev.  Mr.  Brook's  church  last  evening, 
at  which  many  interesting  statements  were  made,  especially  from  L, 
R.,  whom  God  has  raised  up,  I  trust,  to  do  a  great  work  among  the 
Germans.  Mr.  Brook  toid  us  he  had  that  day  learned  the  fact,  that 
a  whole  family  of  Germans,  father,  mother,  daughter,  and  two  sons, 
had  been  hopefully  converted  to  God,  partly  at  least  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  this  Colportage  ;  and  like  instances  are  multiplying. 
It  is  almost  the  first  ray  of  hope  I  have  seen  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  our  Germans.  Is  this  a  time  for  the  Society  to  relax  its  efforts! 
No,  it  cannot  be." 

Rev.  William  Adams,  D.  D.  read  the  following  additional 
Document  on  the  Colporteur  system,  as  adapted  to 

in.    THE  CONVERSION  OF  ERRORISTS. 

The  Committee  would  solicit  the  attention  of  the  Board  to  a  class, 
for  whose  spiritual  improvement  little  is  directly  attempted,  viz.  Ro- 
man  Catholics  and  other  Errorists.  - 

While  the  Committee  are  not  unaware  of  the  danger  to  our  institu- 
tions, civil  and  religious,  from  the  increase  and  prevalence  of  sects 
that  in  their  nature  and  history  have  always  been  opposed  to  freedom, 
they  do  not  sympathise  with  the  spirit  of  denunciation  that  has  too 
often  characterized  the  controversies  with  them.  They  are  immortal 
beings,  and  the  soul  of  each  is  of  priceless  value.  We  believe  that 
the  great  mass  of  them  are  deluded,  and  that  unless  they  are  unde- 
ceived and  led  in  true  penitence  to  the  cross,  they  must  eternally 
perish.  And  though  the  work  of  reclaiming  an  errorist  may  be  a  dif- 
ficult one,  through  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  not  an  impos- 
sible one — else  the  Church  had  still  been  enveloped  in  the  darkness 


THE    COLPORTEUR    SYSTEM.  127 

of  the  15ih  century.  The  idea  that  the  whole  generation  of  the  ad- 
herents of  a  false  faith  in  this  country  must  be  left  to  a  common 
doom,  is  abhorrent  alike  to  the  benevolence  of  the  Gospel  and  to 
common  humanity. 

If,  however,  any  thing  is  to  be  done  to  save  them,  it  must  be  done 
individual  by  individual,  family  by  family,  by  the  fire-side  or  in  the 
street  ;  for  they  do  not,  and. will  not  come  to  our  churches,  or  place 
themselves  within  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  modes  of  instruction. 
And  they  need  to  be  approached  as  other  men  are — not  as  partizans, 
but  as  men,  and  as  sinners  needing  a  Savior — with  tenderness  and 
affection,  and  a  real  and  manifest  desire  to  do  them  good.  They  may 
and  will  resist  a  harsh,  indiscriminate  condemnation  of  them  and  their 
errors  ;  but  it  remains  to  be  shown  that  Christ-like  compassion,  and 
humble,  prayerful,  persevering  effort  will  avail  nothing  in  subduing 
the  prejudice  and  winning  the  souls  that  know  nothing  experimentally 
of  pardoned  sin,  and  the  fulness  and  freeness  of  the  love  of  Christ. 
Has  the  great  truth  which  unlocked  the  fetters  of  superstition,  by 
which  the  soul  of  Luther  was  bound  when  in  the  monastery  of  Er- 
furth  ;  which  severed  the  last  cord  that  attached  him  to  the  Papacy, 
when  climbing  the  holy  stairs  at  Rome  on  his  bare  knees  I  which  was 
the  burden  and  watchword  of  the  Reformation  and  of  Paul — "  ths 
Just  shall  live  hy  faith  ;'' — has  this  glorious  truth  lost  its  power? 

The  partial  and  yet  successful  efforts  in  Papal  Europe  for  the  con- 
version of  Errorists,  show  that  they  are  not  irreclaimable,  even  where 
civil  power  and  priestly  domination  are  combined  to  strengthen 
the  bands  of  error.  Then  why  should  indifference  to  this  subject 
exist  here,  where  the  operation  of  our  free  institutions,  the  more  gen- 
eral diffusion  of  light,  and  the  ascendancy  of  a  spiritual  religion,  all 
favor  the  abandonment  of  useless  forms  ;  and  where,  as  no  where 
else,  every  man  is  free  to  exert  his  fullest  influence  over  his  fellow- 
man  t 

Wherever  efforts  have  been  successful  for  the  conversion  of  Errorists, 
whether  in  the  time  of  the  great  Reformation,  or  at  the  present  day  on 
ihe  Continent,  colporteurs  with  Books  and  Tracts  have  constituted 
the  principal  agency.  So  it  must  be  here.  When  practicable,  as  in 
the  Temperance  Reform,  men  must  be  employed  who  have  themselves 
borne  the  galling  yoke  from  which  they  would  free  others,  and  who 
can  speak  from  bitter  experience  of  the  mischiefs  and  dangers  of  the 
system  they  would  demolish.  These  men  should  speak  the  language 
of  the  people  they  approach,  whether  French,  German,  or  English,  and 
go  to  the  people  at  their  hoines,  commending  to  them  the  love  of 
Christ  and  the  completeness  of  his  salvation.         , 


128  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

The  colporteurs  already  in  the  service  of  the  Society  are  expected 
to  approach  the  families  of  Errorists  within  their  respective  fields  in 
this  way.  It  is  for  the  Board  to  consider  whether  there  is  encourage- 
ment or  necessity  for  a  class  of  laborers  to  be  especially  devoted  to 
this  portion  of  our  population.  If  the  importance  of  this  general  sub- 
ject were  more  universally  felt  by  the  christian  community,  and  each 
christian  would  exert  his  influence  on  those  he  could  reach  around 
him,  the  Board  might  be  relieved  of  a  large  share  of  the  responsibility 
which  now  manifestly  rests  upon  them. 

Dr.  ADAMS  proceeded  to  say  that  there  was  a  time  when  he  had 
but  little  sympathy  with  the  incessant  cry  of  evil  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  power  and  influence  of  Papists  among  us.  But  he  was  com- 
pelled to  say  that  sober  reflection  had  brought  him  to  feel  that  our 
dangers  from  this  source  had  never  been  overstated.  One  thing  is 
certain:  Catholics  are  making  desperate  efl'orts  to  acquire  influence, 
and  are  making  a  progress  towards  the  consummation  of  their  de- 
sires which  greatly  animates  and  encourages  them.  It  is  but  three 
months  ago  since  Saltzbeecher,  the  Prebendary  of  St.  Stephens,  in 
Vienna,  left  this  city  for  Europe,  after  having  completed  a  lour  of 
inspection  and  exploration  through  the  United  States.  He  passed 
from  city  to  city,  and  made  his  observations  without  being  known  to 
scarcely  a  single  Protestant.  The  reports  he  carried  back  to  the  Leo- 
pold Society  cannot  be  otherwise  than  most  cheering  to  them.  What 
if  we  should  learn  from  our  missionaries  that  they  had  obtained  pos- 
session of  one  temple  after  another,  which  had  formerly  been  devoted 
to  the  worship  of  idols — as  Catholics  can  say  of  temples  devoted  to 
Protestant  worship — would  it  not  awaken  a  thrill  of  enthusiasm  in 
our  hearts'!  We  need  not  go  to  the  West — the  Catholics  are  making 
their  strides  here,  in  the  midst  of  us,  sufficiently  fast  to  alarm  and 
arouse  every  Protestant  and  every  American.  Yes,  in  this  city, 
churches,  once  devoted  to  the  pure  worship  of  God,  are  now  every 
Sabbath  thronged  with  the  votaries  of  the  Catholic  faith.  I  say  this 
not  in  the  spirit  of  denunciation,  but  with  feelings  of  real  alarm.  I  love 
the  spirit  of  the  paper  I  have  read— it  suggests  the  only  proper  mode 
— the  only  successful,  authorized  mode  of  reaching  those  whom  it 
proposes  to  make  the  objects  of  faithful  christian  eiTort. 

There  seems  to  be  great  incredulity  in  reference  to  the  conversion 
of  Catholics.  But  why  should  there  be  1  As  christians,  we  should  be 
stanch  in  the  faith  that  no  form  of  error  can  withstand  the  Gospel 
and  the  influences  with  which  it  is  accompanied.  Have  we  forgotten 
what  the  Gospel  has  already  achieved  1  Do  we  not  remember  the 


THE  COLPORTEUR  SYSTEM.  129 

Reformation — when,  in  the  face  of  every  disadvantage,  the  simple 
word  of  God  wrought  its  conquests  upon  the  Rhine,  pervaded  Ger- 
many, and  crossing  over  to  England,  awakened  thousands  of  just  such 
deluded  Catholics  as  those  in  our  streets  1  Let  us  cherish  faith  in 
the  power  of  the  Gospel. 

But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  a  faith  in  the  Gospel,  comparatively  un- 
impeded in  its  influence,  that  we  are  called  to 'exercise.  Catholics 
are  necessarily  much  more  accessible  in  this  country  than  they  were 
in  Luther's  time.  Then  they  had  to  apostatize  from  their  religion 
when  it  was  propped  up  by  the  civil  power,  and  when  the  denun- 
ciations of  the  church  could  be  enforced  by'pains  and  penalties.  But 
here  the  Gospel  meets  them  where  every  thing  is  free.  They  cannot 
he  chained  to  their  errors  by  any  overawing  power.  The  light  of 
the  Truth  cannot  be  shut  out  from  their  minds. 

Catholics  are  here  divested  of  all  those  associations  which  have 
grown  from  century  to  centui'y,  and  which  exert  so  much  influence 
in  other  lands.  The  venerable  antiquity  of  the  relics,  the  cathedrals, 
the  service,  the  hierarchy — circumstances  which  have  been  woven 
with  their  earliest  impressions  and  most  solemn  and  awful  concep- 
tions, have  there  an  incalculable  power  in  keeping  the  conscience 
fast  to  the  errors  with  which  they  are  connected.  But  here  there 
are  no  old  fanes,  no  venerable  priesthood,  no  gorgeous  display,  no 
time-hallowed  associations.  Their  religion  is  divested  of  every  ad- 
scititious  influence.  It  is  left  in  its  unaided,  native  power,  to  grap- 
ple with  the  Truth. 

Look,  too,  at  the  favorable  influence  which  education  must  exert. 
It  seems  like  mockery  to  talk  of  the  continuance  or  progress  of 
Popery,  when  accompanied  by  education,  intelligence,  and  freedom. 
The  true  keys  of  St.  Peter  are  those  which  open  the  book  of  know- 
ledge, not  those  which  pretend  to  hold  the  access  to  heaven.  In 
Papal  countries  learning  is  nothing  but  a  name.  The  libraries  of  the 
Vatican  are  splendid,  but  they  are  locked  up.  But  here,  every  son 
of  that  church  is  brought  within  the  reach  of  education.  Here  he 
is  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  intelligence.  He  cannot  but 
acquire  information.  Knowledge  will  force  itself  upon  his  mind,  and 
no  ghostly  power  can  lock  hira  up  so  tightly  but  the  perception  of 
their  delusion,  deceit,  absurdity  and  error  will  reach  him  in  some 
degree. 

It  is  under  all  these  favorable  circumstances  that  we  go  forth  to 
convert  the  Catholics.  If  there  are  any  circumstances  which  render 
their  conversion  possible,  are  they  not  those  into  which  their  immi- 
gration to  this  country  introduces  them  1     Let  them  be  met  with  the 


130  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Gospel,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  who  shall  say  they  will  be 
found  inaccessible,  or  impregnable  in  their  errors  1  The  spirit  of  this 
Paper  is  that  of  kindness.  I  never  yet  met  the  man  who  could  not 
be  approached  by  kindness.  He  might  repel  you  at  first,  but  un- 
wearied kindness  would  prove  too  strong  for  him.  Christ  comes  to 
us  in  the  spirit  of  love.  His  is  the  Spirit  in  which  we  should  approach 
these  followers  of  a  false  faith. 

We  are  all  unaware  of  the  stealthily  rapid  strides  with  which  the 
Catholics  are  over-running  us.  We  have  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
numbers  that  are  daily  pouring  in  upon  us.  And  more  are  on  their 
way.  The  whole  old  world  seems  to  be  in  commotion,  disgorging 
her  over-abundant  pauper  population.  How  shall  we  save  ourselves, 
our  beloved  institutions,  or  the  religion  of  our  fathers'?  We  cannot 
send  them  back.  We  cannot  shut  up  the  gutes.  Come  they  must 
and  will.  What  shall  we  do  1  I  will  tell  you.  As  the  gallant  Emmet 
said  of  the  enemies  of  his  country,  he  would  meet  them  on  the  beach 
with  a  torch  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other,  to  dispute  the  soil 
with  them  inch  by  inch  :  so  would  we  meet  these  upon  the  beach, 
with  the  Bible  in  one  hand  and  the  grasp  of  love  in  the  other.  We 
would  bid  them  welcome  to  our  freedom,  our  knowledge,  and  our  re- 
ligion ;  and  the  result  shall  be,  that  they  will  settle  among  us,  not  as 
enemies,  but  as  friends  ;  and  from  the  subverters  of  our  freedom  they 
will  become  its  sure  and  strong  defence. 

Rev.  Mr.  COOK  announced  some  cheering  facts  In  respect  to  the 
progress  of  the  labors  of  colporteurs  at  the  West,  particularly  among 
the  Germans.  A  letter  received  but  the  day  previous,  stated  that 
1200  families  had  been  visited  in  Cincinnati,  and  700  German  books 
and  25,000  pages  of  German  Tracts  had  been  distributed,  and  about 
fifty  days  of  personal  labor  performed  among  the  most  hopeless 
classes.  The  result  had  been  that  a  German  church,  which  even  at 
its  dedication  had  been  but  thinly  attended,  was  now  filled  to  over- 
fiowins:,  and  a  considerable  number  of  conversions  had  taken  place 
among  Romanists— among  others,  one  entire  family,  father,  mother, 
son  and  daughter  !  It  was  just  such  intelligence  that  cheered  Lu- 
ther in  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation. 

The  paper  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Adams  was  referred  to  the  same 
Committee  as  the  preceding:,  who,  through  Rev.  Mr.  Guldin,  report- 
ed as  follows  : 

The  Committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  Documents  relating  to 
"  the  Colporteur  System,  in  its  application  to  the  German  popula- 
tion," and  to  "  Romanists  and  other  errorists,"  respectfully 


THE   COLPORTEUR    SYSTEM.  131 

REPORT, 

That  having  given  the  subject  prayerful  consideration,  they  are 
prepared  to  approve  the  system  as  one  wisely  adapted,  under  exist- 
ing circumstances,  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  these  neglected  classes. 
They  constitute  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  portion  of  our  popu- 
lation, and  afford  one  of  the  widest  and  most  promising  fields  for 
evangelical  effort.  And  the  present  is  a  momentous  period  in  their 
history,  calling  loudly  for  the  utmost  exertions  for  their  salvation. 

The  Committee  will  only  add  some  of  the  reasons  for  their  full 
and  deep  conviction,  not  only  of  the  propriety  of  the  system  of  col- 
portage  in  general,  but  of  its  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  classes 
named,  and  the  incalculable  importance  of  carrying  it  out  as 
fully  and  as  speedily  as  possible. 

1.  There  is  a  great  want  of  German  ministers,  even  to  supply 
the  churches  already  formed.  It  is  impossible  to  occupy  and  do 
justice  to  half  the  ground,  with  only  the  German  preachers  now  in 
the  field. 

2.  There  are  many  places,  even  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Ohio,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Far  West,  where  there  are  no 
churches,  and  where  an  evangelical  German  minister  is  scarcely 
ever  found  ;  and  though  the  Institutions  of  the  German  Churches  are 
rapidly  rising,  and  promise  to  do  much  in  preparing  a  pious  minis- 
try, it  will  require  years  before  an  adequate  supply  can  be  furnished. 

3.  This  system  will  be  a  most  powerful  auxiliary  to  the  evangeli- 
cal German  ministry.  A  better  day  is  dawning  upon  the  German 
churches;  a  pious  and  laborious  ministry  exists  in  many  places;  a 
deeper  interest  is  beginning  to  be  felt  in  the  cause  of  benevolence, 
and  revivals  of  religion  have  been  enjoyed  in  different  sections.  But 
the  amount  of  evangelical  instruction  is  totally  inadequate.  Pious 
ministers,  then,  so  far  as  any  thing  is  known  of  this  system,  do  and 
will  regard  it  as  an  inestimable  blessing  from  God,  and  hail  it  as 
one  of  their  greatest  and  best  auxiliaries. 

4.  Where  there  are  no  churches  or  ministers — and  there  are 
many  and  extensive  sections  of  country  where  there  are  none — the 
system  of  colportage  seems  indispensable.  There  are  thousands  of 
German  families  who  very  seldom,  if  ever,  get  to  the  house  of  God. 
Perhaps  they  live  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  a  place  of  wor- 
ship. Into  these  destitute  families  your  ColpoHeur  enters  ',  he  leaves 
among  them  your  Volumes  and  Tracts  in  the  German  language. 
When  he  is  gone  the  publications  are  read  again  and  again ;  and 
on  the  Sabbath  they  supply  in  a  measure  the  want  of  preaclsing. 


132  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

» 

5.  The  system  is  aLlmii'ably  calculated  to  prepare  these  v«^aste 
places  for  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  like  John  the  Bap- 
tist, "preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord."  If  ministers  are  sent  forth, 
as  they  must  and  will  be,  to  organize  churches  in  what  are  now 
desolations,  will  they  not  be  aided,  and  bless  God  for  the  agency  of 
your  Society,  in  placing  Baxter,  Bunyan,  Doddridge,  Page,  &c. 
among  the  families,  with  the  fruits  that  will  be  manifest  in  souls 
converted  and  believers   strengthened  ? 

For  the  foregoing  and  other  reasons  the  Committee  would  urge 
a  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  colporteurs  for  the  German  popu- 
lation, that  the  millions  of  that  people  who  have  come  and  are  com- 
ing to  this  christian  land  may  be  blessed  with  the  personal  influ- 
ence of  godly  men,  and  the  light  that  shines  from  the  pages  of  Gos- 
pel writings. 

Conversion  of  Romanists  and  other  Errorists. 

The  other  topic  referred  to  the  Committee,  claims  a  moment's  at- 
tention. The  Committee  believe  that  the  Colporteur  System  has  a 
decided  advantage  over  almost  every  other  mode  of  doing  good  to 
*•  Romanists  and  other  errorists."  In  some  respects  it  has  an  ad- 
vantage even  over  the  pulpit  :  for  prejudices  against  it  as  a  secta- 
rian effort  can  hardJy  be  awakened.  The  Books  and  Tracts  are  in 
the  true  sense  "  Catholic,"  and  exhibit  the  peculiarities  of  no  de- 
nomination. They  will  be  read  by  those  who  cannot  be  induced  to 
hear  Protestant-preachers  of  any  denomination.  Romanists,  too,  will 
read  these  publications  when  they  cannot  read  the  Bible,  which 
their  priests  may  prohibit. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  thousands  of  errorists  may  be  reach- 
ed in  this  way,  who  can  be  reached  in  no  other.  And  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  blessed  results  of  even  the  limited  efforts  made 
by  the  Society  thus  far,  the  conclusion  is  a  safe  one,  that  great 
numbers  of  a  class  hitherto  little  cared  for  may  be  reclaimed,  and, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  saved  through  the  system  under  consi- 
deration. 

Thursday,  10  A.  M.— The  Rev.  Dr.  Miliior  ia  the  chair. 
Prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bingham,  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The 
morning  was  wholly  occupied  with  Documents  and  Reports, 
which  have  been  inserted  above,  in  the  order  of  the  subjects. 

Thursday,  4  P.  M. — After  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Patton,  the  fol- 
lowing paper  was  presented  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cook,  and  referred 
to  the  Executive  Committee  for  publication. 


EVERY    CHRISTIAN    A   MISSIONARY.  133 


DOCUMENT  VIII. 


Every  Christian  a  Missionary. 

What  does  the  Church  expect  of  her  Missionary  to  the 
Heathen?  She  expects  hira,  in  a  word,  to  be  a  living 
"  Epistle  of  Christ,  known  and  read  of  all  men."  She  sends 
him  forth  among  those  who  have  no  knowledge  of  a  Sa- 
vior, or  of  the  purifying  power  of  his  salvation  ;  the  mis- 
sionary is  to  teach  the  one  and  exemplify  the  other.  She 
sends  him  to  those  who  are  hastening  to  death  and  the  judg- 
ment, yet  ignorant  of  their  danger,  and  unprepared  to  meet 
it :  the  missionary  is  to  labor  with  untiring  zeal  to  "snatch 
them  as  brands  from  the  burning."  He  is  to  be  content,  pro- 
vided only  "  his  bread  be  given  him  and  his  water  be 
sure,"  without  a  care  for  the  superfluities  of  life  ;  he  is  to 
rise  above  weakness  and  weariness,  to  trust  God  in  the 
midst  of  discouragements,  to  submit  cheerfully  to  self-de- 
nial in  all  the  varied  forms  which  it  may  assume  to  one  who 
is  self-exiled  among  a  heathen  population,  and  to  "count 
not  his  life  dear  to  himself,"  unto  the  end.  He  is  not  only 
to  be  "  blameless  and  harmless,  without  rebuke,"  but  to 
"  hold  forth  the  word  of  life,"  to  labor  in  season  and  out  of 
season  for  the  salvation  of  the  perishing,  and  to  cease  not, 
while  life  remains,  to  "  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with 
tears." 

Such  is  the  standard  which  the  Church  sets  up  for  her 
missionary  ;  and  although  she  knows  that  oppressed  as  he 
is  by  the  infirmities  and  imperfections  of  his  nature,  he  does 
not  in  all  things  fully  attain  to  it,  she  would  yet  pronounce 
him  unworthy  of  his  station  should  he  aim  at  any  thing 
less.  She  would  be  shocked  to  hear  of  his  devoting  his 
time  and  energies  to  the  accumulation  of  property,  even 
though  it  were  to  be  professedly  consecrated  to  Christ;  or 
of  his  living  in  the  midst  of  the  perishing  without  the  most 


13^  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

Strenuous,  systematic,  persevering  effort  to  bring  every  soul, 
accessible  to  his  influence,  to  the  Savior.  The  Church  is 
right  in  this;  the  word  of  God  sanctions  it  all. 

Has  the  Church  adopted  the  same  standard  for  her  own 
piety  as  that  to  which  she  expects  her  missionary  to  at- 
tain? We  do  but  propose  the  question;  let  individual  ob- 
servation and  individual  conscience  answer.  Who  and  how 
many  in  the  wliole  American  Church  have  consecrated  all 
they  have  and  are  to  the  cause  of  Christ  with  such  simpli- 
city and  entireness  of  devotion  as  they  expect  from  the  fo- 
reign missionary  ?  Who  and  how  many  feel  and  manifest 
such  interest  for  the  welfare  of  individual  souls,  in  the  dai- 
ly intercourse  of  life,  as  they  expect  the  missionary  to  show 
for  every  poor  heathen  whom  his  kind  exhortation  may  in 
any  way  be  made  to  reach?  Who  and  how  many  live  habi- 
tually in  such  faithful  discharge  of  christian  duty  to  the 
souls  of  men,  that  a  call  to  a  foreign  field  of  labor  would  not 
send  them  to  their  closets  with  the  mournful  confession  and 
lamentation,  "  Mine  own  vineyard  have  I  not  kept  V  The 
eye  of  God  doubtless  sees  some — it  is  to  be  hoped,  many 
such;  but  is  it  not  a  serious  question  how  far  this  is  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  the  Church  of  Christ  ? 

Why  should  there  ?iut  be  one  and  Che  savie  standard  of 
consecration  for  the  christian  abroad  and  the  christian  at 
home  7  Each  professes  to  be  actuated  by  the  spirit  of  Christ ; 
without  it,  they  "  are  none  of  his;"  but  "is  Christ  divided?" 
Is  the  cross  to  rest  unequally  upon  those  who  claim  to  be 
following  in  his  footsteps  of  humility  and  suffering  ?  Are 
the  souls  of  men  less  precious  because  they  live  and  die 
within  the  very  shadow  of  our  churches,  or  people  the  fo- 
rests  and  prairies  of  our  own  native  land?  Is  there  small 
need  to  care  for  those  who,  if  they  perish,  will  sink  under  a 
weight  of  condemnation  which  the  heathen  can  never  suf- 
fer— that  of  living  where  they  might  have  heard  the  Gospel, 
and  yet  neglecting  it? 

Two  or  three  reasons  may  be  mentioned  why  the  staiid- 
ard  of  christian  effort  for  every  follower  of  the  Savior 
should,  be  the  highest  ever  proposed  to  the  foreign  mis- 
sionary. 

1.  It  will  bring  peculiar  glory  to  Christ,  and  bear  an  unan- 


EVERY    CHRISTIAN    A    MISSIONARY.  135 

swerable  witness  for  him  in  the  hearts  of  men.  He  is  not 
honored  by  mere  external  acts  of  devotion  ;  the  veriest  Pha- 
risee may  excel  in  these  ;  nor  by  deeds  of  splendid  benefi- 
cence— mere  vanity  may  prompt  them ;  nor  by  outward 
acts  of  self-denial  and  austerity — the  poor  pagan  can  show 
as  good  ;  but  the  test  which  he  himself  proposes  is  this, 
"Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  hear  much  fruit ; 
so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples."  There  is  a  daily  beauty  in 
the  consecrated  life  of  a  consistent  christian  when  the  love 
and  compassion  of  Christ  beam  from  the  eye  and  modulate 
the  voice,  and  prompt  to  sincerely  kind  efforts  for  the  good 
of  every  being  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence,  which 
the  world  can  neither  gainsay  nor  resist. 

2.  It  will  pre-eminently  fit  the  soul  for  the  enjoyment  of 
heaven.  What  a  diminution  of  happiness  must  there  be  to  him 
who  is  just  saved — "  so  as  by  fire  !" — to  hira  who  enters 
the  pearly  gates  alone — none  there  to  welcome  him,  saved 
by  his  instrumentality;  none  to  follow  him,  led  thither  by 
his  efforts  and  prayers  !  Blessed  will  be  the  eternity  of  a 
Whitefield  or  a  Doddridge — as  its  rolling  ages  continually 
swell  the  accumulating  tide  of  hallowed  influences  exerted 
by  them  on  earth,  and  which  must  flow  on  for  ever  in  a 
widening,  deepening,  brightening  current.  To  those  who 
have  "  turned  many  to  righteousness  "  is  that  jewelled  pro- 
mise given,  '•  They  shall  shine  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever." 

3.  By  such  instrumentality  is  the  world  to  be  converted 
to  God.  It  is  his  appointed  agency,  owned  and  blessed  of 
him  in  all  past  time,  and  to  be  employed  hereafter  with  a 
universality  of  application  and  a  mighty  efficacy,  through 
God,  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  of  which  the  Church  has  as 
yet  scarcely  a  conception.  The  pen  of  prophecy  has  recorded, 
"And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying.  Know  the  Lord  ;  for  all  shall 
know  him  from  the  least  of  therh  unto  the  greatest  of  them." 
Does  not  this  declaration  recognize  the  agency  of  which  we 
speak — employed  through  all  future  time,  until,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  the  seed  "sown  beside  all  waters,"  the 
harvest  of  the  world  shall  have  been  gathered  unto  Christ? 


136  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

Blessed  and  glorious  will  be  that  consummation ;  the  Lord 
hasten  it  in  His  time  ! 

The  principle  involved  in  this  paper  is  one  that  runs 
through  all  the  departments  of  effort  in  which  the  Society- 
is  engaged.  The  Colporteur  System  is  but  its  embodiment, 
in  endeavors  to  reach  the  population  beyond  the  pale  of  in- 
fluence from  organized  churches,  and  in  waste  places  where 
no  professing  christians  are  found,  or  where,  through  lack 
of  vital  piety,  they  are  but  as  salt  having  lost  its  savor. 
The  Volume  Circulation  has  called  out  at  least  25,000 
christians  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  to  exemplify 
this  principle  and  prove  its  blessedness  by  their  own  expe- 
rience in  temporary  missionary  service.  The  same  principle 
is  recognized  in  Foreign  Distribution  as  carried  forward 
by  the  missionaries  and  their  native  helpers;  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  which  is  furnished  in  a  recent  letter  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Dvvight  at  Constantinople.  Speaking  of  the  converted 
Armenians,  he  says,  "  Every  man  here  who  comes  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  becomes  himself  at  once  a  missioji- 
ary,  and  his  influence  is  very  important." 

The  system  of  Tract  Visitation  q\so  carries  this  princi- 
ple into  most  effective  operation,  and  affords  peculiar  facili- 
ties for  its  systematic  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  destitute 
and  neglected  in  the  vicinity  of  all  our  organized  churches. 
It  is  of  easy  application  in  every  place  where  there  are 
christians  who  can  unite  in  efforts  to  save  their  fellow-men. 
It  places  the  responsibility  of  visiting  personally  a  given 
number  of  families,  on  some  one  individual,  who  is  expected, 
in  connection  with  the  distribution  of  appropriate  Tracts,  to 
do  all  that  may  be  done  by  religious  conversation  and  pray- 
er, gathering  children  into  Sabbath  Schools,  and  every 
other  suitable  means  which  his  heart  can  devise,  to  bring 
his  part  of  the  field  under  complete  moral  cultivation.  The 
energies  of  the  Church  thus  developed,  the  influence  of  active 
piety  thus  diffused,  would  by  the  blessing  of  God  do  much, 
in  addition  to  the  labors  of  the  ministry,  towards  rendering 
these  desolate  regions  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

There  is  a  demonstration  of  the  feasibility  and  power  of 
this  agency  in  the  history  of  the  New-York  City  Tract 
Mission,  and  other  efforts  of  the  kind  in  various  cities  and 


EVERY    CHRISTIAN   A   MISSIONARY.  137 

towns  throughout  the  land.  It  is  worthy  the  inquiry  of  the 
Board  whether  the  more  general  extension  of  this  system 
through  the  country  might  not  aid  greatly  in  conveying  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  to  thousands  of  destitute  and  unevange- 
lized  families,  who,  without  the  intervention  of  some  such 
agency,  must  perish  for  lack  of  vision. 

F.  A.  PERKINS,  Esq.  of  Norwich.  Conn,  paid  an  instructive  and 
interesting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Sarah  Lanman  Huntington,  af- 
terwards wife  of  Rev.  Eli  Smith,  missionary  to  Syria,  who,  he  said, 
exhibited  more  perfectly  than  any  other  christian  that  he  had  ever 
known,  the  symmetry  of  christian  character.  All  the  powers  of 
her  mind  and  the  affections  of  her  heart  were  emploj^ed  in  efforts  to 
do  good  until  she  ceased  to  breathe.  Before  she  indulged  a  hope  in 
Christ,  she  was  active  as  a  Sabbath-school  teacher,  and  when  she 
made  a  profession  of  religion  she  seemed  to  make  an  entire  conse- 
cration of  herself  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  When  the  system  of  Tract 
distribution  was  introduced,  she  was  one  of  the  first  to  engage  in  it, 
and  though  the  amount  of  good  she  accomplished  may  never  be 
known,  there  are  results  which  may  be  told.  Mr.  P.  knew  of  one 
man,  a  skeptic,  to  whom  she  gave  Tracts,  which  she  always  accom- 
panied with  a  word  of  advice  and  prayer  for,  and  if  permitted,  with 
those  to  whom  they  were  given.  In  this  case  the  result  was  the 
conversion  of  the  man  and  his  wife.  In  these  labors  she  was  un- 
tiring and  faithful.  It  was  this  spirit  that  led  her  for  years  to  de- 
vote herself  to  the  instruction  of  the  children  of  the  Mohegan  vil- 
lage ;  submitting  to  great  self  denials  to  prosecute  her  work ;  thus 
becoming  a  christian  missionary  in  fact,  long  before  she  was  one  in 
name ;  until  the  door  was  opened  for  her  to  go  out  to  a  foreign  land. 
We  all  know  how  she  labored  there,  and  how  she  died.  The  same 
principle  that  prompted  her  efforts  here,  inspired  her  there,  until  her 
physical  powers  were  exhausted  under  the  impulses  of  her  mind  and 
heart.  And  can  we  doubt  the  effect  if  every  christian  female  would 
take  up  the  cross  and  foUow  her  as  she  followed  Christ  ? 

Letter  from  Rev.  John  C.  Backus,  Baltimore,  Md. 

*'  I  regret  that  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  attend  the  meeting 
called  to  consult  on  the  best  means,  of  promoting  the  Tract  cause.  I 
feel  the  deepest  interest  in  the  whole  enterprise — especially  the  vo- 
lume circulation  and  Tract  distribution  at  home.  Having  witnessed 
the  effects  of  these  efforts,  I  feel  convinced  that,  while  they  afford  a 
most  uspful  and  sanctifying  employment  to  church  members,  they  are 


1S8  DELIBEEATIVE   MEETING. 

most  important  auxiliaries  to  the  christian  ministry ;  one  of  the  best 
substitutes  where  the  ministry  of  the  word  cannot  be  enjoyed;  and 
invaluable  pioneers  to  the  living  preacher  in  destitute  places.  I  feel 
truly  anxious  that  you  should  be  guided  aright,  and  should  be  happy 
to  be  present  and  listen  to  the  suggestions  and  counsels  of  fathers 
and  brethren  who  have  been  called  together.  I  will  hope  to  catch 
something  of  the  spirit  of  the  meeting,  and  pray  that  a  fresh  impulse 
may  be  given  to  the  cause." 

Rev.  Mr.  Hallock,   Secretary,  presented  the  following 
paper : 


DOCUMENT  IX. 

Relations  of  llie  Society  to  Foreign  liands. 

The  primary  inquiry  in  this  connection  is  perhaps, 
What  are  the  Divinely  appointed  methods  of  spreading 
the  Gospel  ? 

Not  to  extend  remarks  to  topics  foreign  to  the  present 
occasion,  thi-ee  of  these  methods  lie  upon  the  very  face  of 
the  New  Testament:  the  public  heralding  ot  ihe  Gospel; 
Evangelizing  by  other  means,  as  in  labors  from  house  to 
house;  and  truth  written  and  read — all  to  be  accompa- 
nied with  prayer,  and  efficacious  only  through  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

1.  That  ihe  public  heralding  of  the  Gospel,  so  often 
practised  by  Christ  and  the  Apostles,  and  so  prominent  a 
means  by  which  the  Gospel  is  now  diffused  in  all  chris- 
tian lands,  is  one  of  the  Divinely  appointed  methods,  re- 
quires no  confirmation  ;  while  there  is  occasion  for  un- 
bounded thanksgiving  that  the  pulpit  is  so  ably  supplied, 


RELATIONS    OF    THE   SOCIETY    TO    FOREIGN    LANDS.     139 

and  the  devout  wish  that  the  Gospel,  so  faithfully  pro- 
claimed, may  bring  forth  more  fruit  in  the  active  devoted 
lives  of  them  who  hear. 

2.  That  other  methods  of  Evangelizing,  or  making 
known  the  Gospel  "  from  house  to  house,"  by  the  way 
side,  and  wherever  individuals  are  to  be  met,  have  equally 
the  Divine  sanction,  is  plain  to  every  attentive  reader  of 
the  New  Testament,  especially  in  the  original,  where 
evangelizo,  the  prevalent  term  for  publishing  the  joyful 
message,  or  "  Glad  tidings,"  has  not  the  restricted  mean- 
ing now  usually  attached  to  the  term  preach  ;  but  is  ap- 
plicable to  the  means  employed  by  all  the  followers  of 
Christ,  each  in  his  proper  sphere,  in  bringing  men  to  the 
knowledge  of  his  name.  How  far  the  neG:lect  of  this 
divinely  enjoined  co-operation  with  the  ministry  brings  a 
blight  upon  the  churches ;  and  what  blessings  might  be 
expected  were  all  their  members  to  imitate  the  fidelity  of 
primitive  days,  are  questions  worthy  of  attention  by  all 
to  whom  the  interests  of  the  churches  are  especially 
committed. 

That  much  of  the  labors  of  our  Lord  when  on  earth,  of 
the  seventy  disciples,  the  twelve  apostles  and  the  eloquent 
Paul  were  of  this  less  public,  evangelizing  character, 
every  attentive  reader  of  the  Bible  well  knows. 

That  others  besides  the  apostles  took  part  in  spreading 
the  great  Salvation  is  equally  clear.  The  first  spreading 
of  the  Gospel  of  the  ascended  Redeemer  was  by  ''the 
church  at  Jerusalem"  as  they  were  "all  scattered  abroad 
except  the  Apostles,"  '•  and  went  ever}'^  where  preaching 
the  word."  **  The  saints  at  Philippi"  *'  shone  as  light  in 
the  world,  holding  forth  the  word  of  life.''  Whosoever 
"heareth"  is  enjoined  to  repeat  the  message  and  ''say, 
Come." 

Indeed  it  is  clear  that  the  New  Testament  (surely  with- 
out intrenching  on  the  prerogatives  of  the  public  minis- 
try) devolves  on   every  individual  christian  a  solemn  re- 


140  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

sponsibility,  both  to  exemplify  and  exert  a  personal  in- 
fluence upon  others  for  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  in  every  re- 
lation he  can  sustain.  He  must  ''let  his  light  shine  be- 
fore men,"  and  be  himself  "an  Epistle"  of  Christ;  talk- 
ing of  him  '•  as  he  sitteth  in  the  house,  or  walketh  by  the 
way,  or  lieth  down,  or  riseth  up."  The  Scriptures  are 
full  of  injunctions  to  fidelity  to  the  souls  of  men,  and  to  be 
"always  abounding"  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  In  the 
decisions  of  the  judgment  day,  he  that  has  buried  his  one 
talent  and  has  not  visited  Christ  in  his  memhers,  must 
hear  the  sentence,  "  Depart,  ye  cursed."  The  example  of 
all  Scripture  saints  rebukes  our  prevailing  sluggishness  : 
the  Marys  and  the  Lydias  were  "  helpers  in  Christ 
Jesus ;"  the  woman  of  Samaria  could  not  refrain  from 
saying,  "  Come  see  the  man  that  told  me  all  things  that 
ever  I  did;  is  not  this  the  Christ?"  and  blind  Bartimeus 
and  little  children  could  shout  his  praise. 

3.  That  tmth  written  and  read  is  a  Divinely  authorized 
means,  the  very  parchment  that  contains  all  other  Divine 
injunctions,  speaks  as  with  a  thousand  tongues,  even  if 
the  finger  of  God  had  never  written  on  tables  of  stone,  or 
there  were  no  assertion  that  "all  Scripture  is  profitable," 
and  no  command  to  "  give  attendance  to  reading  "  and 
dig  as  for  hid  treasures  in  these  sacred  mines.  And  if 
such  was  the  value  thus  Divinely  attached  to  this  means 
of  grace,  when  to  obtain  copies  was  so  difficult,  what  is 
now  the  obligation  to  employ  the  press  with  its  thousand 
tongues  and  facilities  passing  belief  to  them  of  old — the 
first  printed  copies  exhibited  by  Mentz  at  Paris  in  1457, 
having  well  nigh  cost  him  his  life  for  the  sin  of  witchcraft. 

All  these  means  of  diffusing  the  Gospel  must  doubtless 
be  employed,  whether  in  our  own  or  pagan  lands,  if  we 
would  gain  the  highest  success.  We  have  not  only  the 
warrant,  but  the  solemn  obligation  laid  on  us,  as  we  have 
opportunity,  to  use  them  all;  and  we  can  omit  or,  over- 
look no  one  but  at  peril.     It  is  the  glory  of  our  day  that 


RELATIONS   OF  THE    SOCIETY   TO    FOREIGN   LANDS.     141 

the  churches  recognize  all  these  means,  and  are  in  some 
measure  employing  them,  both  for  their  own  edification 
and  communicating  the  light  of  life  to  every  creature. 
The  commissioned  minister  not  only  lifts  up  his  voice  ia 
the  pulpit,  but  preaches  the  Gospel  in  the  catechetical 
class,  in  the  pastoral  visit,  by  personal  example,  and 
through  the  press.  Other  officers  of  the  church  co-oper- 
ate in  these  latter  methods;  and  the  conscience  of  chris- 
tians generally  is  waking  to  the  duty  of  being  individual- 
ly useful.  Our  great  benevolent  Institutions  are  founded 
on  these  principles :  planting  the  ministry  at  home  and 
abroad  ;  rearing  men  called  to  the  sacred  office;  and  dif- 
fusing the  Bible  and  truth  in  every  form  on  the  printed 
page,  accompanied  by  the  prayerful  efforts  of  the  christian 
and  colporteur. 

The  providing  of  an  adequate  ministry  for  all  the  pre- 
sent generation  of  men  appears  to  be,  under  the  ordina- 
ry  dispensations  of  Providence  and  grace,  impossible.  A 
large  portion  of  all  on  earth  must  go  down  to  death  with- 
out ever  hearing  of  Christ  by  this  means ;  and  it  becomes 
a  serious  question  how  far  the  churches  are  bound  to 
employ  other  divinely  authorized  means  in  co-operation 
with  the  ministry  where  it  exists,  and  to  prepare  the  way 
for  it  where  it  does  not,  and  in  some  degree  meet  the  spi- 
ritual wants  of  the  perishing.  What  can  be  done  by  the 
PRESS — already  pouring  out  its  floods  of  licentiousness 
and  sin — by  the  Evangelical  press,  accompanied  by 
the  labors  of  christians,  and  where  necessary,  by  Colpor- 
teurs, or  distributing  Agents  ? 

Consideration  has  elsewhere  been  given  to  this  subject 
as  applicable  to  our  own  country — how  far  may  it  apply 
to  PAGAN  LANDS,  whcrc  there  is  yet  scarcely  one  ordained 
preacher  to  a  million  souls  ? 

In  commencing  foreign  missionary  operations  at  any 
station,  there  can  be  of  course,  even  were  the  language 
aequired,  no  regular  public  heralding  of  the  Gospel  to 

8 


14-2  DELIBERATIVE    MEETIKG. 

great  congregations ;  for  pagans  love  their  darkness  and 
will  not  assemble  to  hear.  The  labors  must  of  necessity 
be  of  the  other  classes  above  described — from  house  to 
house,  with  individual  by  individual,  by  the  wayside  or  in 
places  of  public  resort,  with  children  in  schools,  in  any 
and  every  way,  till  prejudices  are  subdued  and  congrega- 
tions can  be  assembled. 

The  same  must  be  true  of  all  joining  a  mission  as  re- 
inforcements until  the  language  is  thoroughly  acquired, 
whether  it  be  for  one  year,  or  five,  or  during  life;  and 
equally  true  of  all  native  converts  and  native  preachers, 
who  though  they  know  the  language,  have  yet  imperfectly 
learned  the  Gospel.  That  to  all  these,  well-written  and 
clear  exhibitions  of  Gospel  truth  are  an  indispensable  aid, 
is  the  united  testimony  of  experience  in  the  Missionary 
work. 

And  the  able  disciplined  Missionary,  who  has  mastered 
the  language,  needs  the  press  at  every  step  of  his  pro- 
gress. In  it  he  perpetuates  the  exposition  of  truth,  which 
otherwise,  at  his  death,  could  never  be  gathered  up.  He 
thus  places  in  the  hands  of  Missionaries  who  have  not 
acquired  the  language,  and  of  native  preachers,  teachers, 
catechists  and  inquirers,  the  best  helps  to  their  own  ac- 
quisitions, and  what  in  their  endeavors  for  others  they 
may  read  and  explain  or  give,  in  connection  with  the 
stammering  words  they  speak.  Many  a  pagan  has  felt, 
when  first  taking  into  his  hands  a  portion  of  the  word  of 
God,  that  he  had  now  a  jiou  sto — something  definite  and 
tangible  that  he  could  study  and  investigate  as  to  the  true 
religion.  The  Mission  Schools  must  be  taught,  like  all 
our  seminaries,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  chiefly 
through  the  press.  Every  visit  and  tour  for  extending 
the  operations  of  the  mission  needs  this  accompaniment, 
and  by  it  the  Missionary  gives  a  portion  of  truth  to  thou- 
sands whom  his  voice  cannot  reach — thus  creating  a  mo- 
ral atmosphere,  and  preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord.    In- 


RELATIONS   OF   THE   SOCIETY   TO   FOREIGN   LANDS.      143 

dispensable  then  as  is  the  press  at  the  outset  of  missionary 
labors,  its  influence  accumulates,  as  in  christian  lands, 
with  every  advance  of  the  great  work,  and  must  go  on 
accumulating  till  all  shall  know  the  Lord. 

Does  any  one  say  that  «•  the  Missionary  is  sent  forth, 
not  to  print,  but  to  '  preach  the  Gospel?'  "  Let  the  objec- 
tion be  intelligently  made.  Did  not  Paul  "preach  the 
Gospel"  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans;  and  may  not  the 
Missionary,  in  translating  it  into  another  tono-ue?  And 
when  he  multiplies  the  best  sermon  he  has  preached  in 
ten  thousand  copies,  is  he  not  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the 
sense  of  the  New  Testament?  Let  us  not  be  wise  above 
what  IS  written.  Yea,  he  is  bound  to  use  all  the  appro- 
priate means  which  the  providence  and  Spirit  of  God  have 
pointed  out. 

But  may  not  the  Missionary  give  the  press  a  dispro^ 
porlionate  attention?  Doubtless;  and  thus  his  error  be  as 
great  as  to  neglect  it,  or  to  confine  himself  to  public 
preaching,  or  labors  by  the  wayside,  to  the  neglect  of  both. 

It  IS  believed  that  the  import  of  the  objection,  if  distinctly 
stated,  would  be  this :  "  that  the  Missionary  is  not  spirilual 
enough,  and  does  not  bring  his  efforts  to  bear  directly  on 
individual  50tt/."_-alas,  that  any  who  make  the  objection 
should  all  their  lives  have  neglected  the  same  duty.     We 
believe  that  no  class  of  labors,  abroad  or  at  home,  so  be» 
nefit  the  heart  as  personal  endeavors  for  individual  souls; 
and  it  is  also  true  that  the  press,  while  its  care  may  en- 
gross some  precious  hours,  may  be  the  greatest  incitement 
and  help  to  hundreds  in  this  particular  class  of  labor.    The 
Tract  is  their  letter  of  introduction ;  it  furnishes  the  occa- 
sion for  going  to  men,  and  the  topic  of  conversation,  and  is 
often  Itself  blessed.  All  experience  in  christian,  and  papal, 
and  pagan  lands,  shows  that  Tracts  and  Books  are  the 
best  auxiliary  to   personal  effort  for  the  souls  of  men. 
Take  care,  then,  lest  by  stopping  the  press  you  quench  the 
very  spark  which  you  would  fan  into  a  flame. 


144  DELIBEHATIVE    MEETING, 

"  The  question  of  Me  proportion  of  ailention  to  be  given 
to  the  press  at  each  foreign  Mission  station,  this  Society 
refers  wholly  to  the  wisdom  of  the  great  and  beloved  Mis- 
sionary Institutions  with  which  it  ia  its  privilege  to  co- 
operate— consulting  them  as  to  the  amount  needed,  remit- 
ting through  their  hands,  and  conforming  to  their  wishes  ; 
that  the  direction  of  each  mission  may  be  one  and  unem- 
barrassed, while  this  Society,  in  collecting  its  funds,  fans 
the  missionary  flame,  and  then  pours  its  tributary  streams 
in  a  hundred  channels  as  the  Lord  has  need  of  them. 

Each  mission  proceeds  to  issue  whatever  it  deems  best 
adapted  to  the  people,  never  requested  by  this  Society  to 
withhold  even  its  denominational  peculiarities.  But  the 
foreign  missionary  leaves  home  and  country  mainly  that 
he  may  oppose  idolatry  and  sin,  and  preach  *'  Christ  cru- 
cified;" and  probably  nine  tenths  of  all  the  Tracts  and 
Books  that  have  been  issued,  accord  with  the  principles  of 
this  Society.  To  these,  as  reported  on  and  approved  by 
the  Publishing  Committee,  this  Society's  pecuniary  granb 
are  applied — about  1700  publications,  including  nearly 
150  volumes,  having  been  already  approved  abroad  in 
nearly  100  languages  and  dialects;  and  of  $236,000,  the 
total  sum  remitted,  about  $200,000  having  been  already 
reported  as  used  for  approved  publications. 

Pursuing  these  principles,  questions  pertaining  to  the 
ordinances  or  church  government  do  not  prevent  the  har- 
mony of  the  Institution.  If  any  publication  contains  a  de- 
nominational sentiment  or  term,  the  expense  of  it  is  borne 
by  others,  while  the  Society's  grants  are  applied  to  those 
m  which  the  Committee  agree.  These  grants,  too,  are 
dispersed  on  the  broadest  principle  of  benevolence,  as  if 
they  were,  what  they  claim  to  be,  the  Treasury  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  be  used  just  where  the  wants  of  the  perishing  and 
the  o-lory  of  the  Redeemer  seem  most  urgently  to  demand. 
It  should  be  remarked  in  closing,  that  nominally 
christian  countries  make  large  demands  on  this  Society ; 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    SOCIETY   TO    FOREIGN    LAKDS.     145 

as  Russia,  where  no  Missionary  is  allowed  to  preach  ia 
the  native  tong-ae,  and  on  the  other  hand  no  infidel  book 
escapes  the  censor's  hand,  but  a  cordial  welcome  is  given 
to  the  evangelical  press ;  Sweden  and  Finland,  where  none 
who  cannot  read  are  permitted  to  approach  the  rite  of  mar- 
riage: and  Germany,  France  and  Switzerland,  where 
some  American  Missionaries  and  the  Foreimi  Evan^eli- 
cal  Society  are  assisting  feeble  churches,  pastors,  evange- 
lists and  Colporteurs  in  their  struggles  to  rekindle  the 
expiring  light  of  the  Reformation,  and  to  restore  an  evan- 
gelical literature,  which  the  rage  of  popery  and  infidelity 
so  nearly  exterminated.  Some  feeble  efforts  also  extend  to 
unhappy  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  South  America  and  other 
foreign  fields,  while  the  Society  pray  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest to  open  doors  of  access  to  these  nations,  and  "over- 
turn, and  overturn,  until  He  shall  come  whose  right  it  is." 

This  Document  was  referred  to  a  Committee  consisting  of 
Rev.  William  J.  Armstrong,  D.  D.  Rev.  John  A.  Vaughan, 
D.  D.  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  and  Rev.  E.  Tucker,  who  reported 
a  recommendation  that  it  be  adopted  and  published  under  the 
direction  of  the  Executive  Committee,  Avhich  was  sanctioned 
by  the  Board, 

In  presenting  tlie  Report  Dr.  Armstrong  expressed  his  sense 
of  the  propriety  and  importance  of  this  enterprise,  and  gave 
utterance  to  the  warm  emotions  of  his  heart  in  behalf  of  the 
press  and  every  other  department  of  labor  for  the  perishing 
millions  of  our  lost  world. 

Lsttcr  from  Rev.  S.  Peek,  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 

Board,  Bo  St  071. 

"  I  am  sorry  not  to  be  with  you  ia  your  approachiag  meeting. 
My  heart  will  be  with  you,  and  my  best  prayers  that  you  may  devise 
and  execute  worthily.  The  noble  liberality  of  your  Society  to  our 
Board  claims  our  hearty  gratitude ;  and  aside  from  this,  your  aims 
aod  measures,  and  all  that  we  know  of  you,  conrmand  our  confi- 
dence and  warm  approvalj  and  are  entitled  to  our  cordial  co-opera- 


3i6  DELIBERATIVE    MEETIxNG. 

tion,  I  feel  a  special  interest  in  behalf  of  Ihe  home  department. 
What  will  save  our  country  if  the  instrumentality  of  your  Society 
fail  or  slacken  ?" 

Letter  from  Rev.  Rufus  Anderson,  D.  D.   Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  Boston. 

"I  need  not  say  that  I  feel  an  increasing  interest  in  your  great 
department  of  christian  charity.  The  Volume  distribution  alone  is 
of  immense  importance  to  our  country — an  auxiliary  of  inconceiv- 
able value  to  the  living  ministry  of  the  word.  The  more  I  think  of 
iJj  the  more  do  I  desii'e  to  see  the  whole  body  of  our  christian  peo- 
ple engaged  in  efforts  to  place  the  Society's  Volumes  in  every  family 
that  will  receive  them. 

"  But  it  becomes  me  rather  to  speak  of  foreign  lands.  The  letter 
from  Rev.  Mr.  Adger,  written  at  Constantinople,  which  you  pro- 
bably received  on  Saturday,  is  a  very  striking  exhibition  of  the  call 
for  religious  Tracts  and  Books  in  one  of  our  missions.  I  think  the 
necessity  for  such  helps  is  steadily  increasing  in  most  of  the  mis- 
aions — the  difficulty  is  to  multiply  the  missionaries  fast  enough  to 
supply  the  also  increasing  demand  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
and  yet  have  time  enough  for  preparing  the  Books  and  Tracts  for 
the  pres?.  On  these  and  all  other  points  vital  to  the  spiritual  illu- 
mina'ion  of  the  world,  let  us  cry  aloud,  and  spare  not,  and  lift  up 
•ur  voices  like  trumpets. 

"  I  trust  you  will  have  a  numerous  attendance,  and  what  will  be 
far  better,  and  indeed  of  indispensable  necessity,  the  presence  and 
blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

letter  from  Rev.  Justin  Perkins,  Missionary  from  ihe  Nestorians. 

^^J.  trust  I  need  not  assure  you  of  our  deep  interest  in  the  success 
of  your  Society.  We  are  too  deeply  indebted  for  its  past  aid,  and  too 
dependent  on  its  future  beneficence,  to  look  with  indifference  on  its 
general  prosperity  and  the  result  of  the  special  meeting  in  prospect. 
The  operations  of  the  Press,  at  our  Mission,  and  most  other  Mis- 
sions under  the  care  of  the  American  Board,  and  more  or  less  of 
other  Boards,  must  of  course  be  crippled,  should  your  pecuniary 
appropriations  be  cut  off;  and  what  a  calamity  a  general  interrup- 
tion of  that  kind  would  bring  upon  the  Missions — and  what  dark- 
ness and  death  shade  upon  the  famishing  heathen  among  whom  the 
leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  have  just  began  to  fall,  I  need  not  attempl 


EELATIO^^S    OF    THE    SOCIETY    TO    FOREIGN    LANDS.     147 

to  describe.  I  much  regret  that  both  the.  Bishop  and  myself  cannot 
be  with  you  to  bear  our  feeble  testimony  to  the  momentous  import- 
ance of  your  operations  in  foreign  lands.  "VVe  will  at  least  try  to 
help  you  by  our  prayers.  He  who  has  graven  Zion  upon  the  palms 
of  his  hands  will,  we  trust,  be  with  you  and  preside  in  your  meeting ; 
and  knowing  as  He  docs  the  value  of  Tract  instrumentality  at  home 
and  abroad  in  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom,  we  believe  he  will 
crown  your  meeting  wilh  a  manifest  blessing. 

"I  am  greatly  encouraged  with  the  success  of  Mr.  Homan  Hal- 
lock  in  preparing  our  Syriac  (or  Nestorian)  type.  He  astonishes  me 
by  the  perfectness  of  his  execution.  I  am  occasionally  with  him  \o 
aid  him  as  he  needs  assistance.'* 

Letter  from  Rev.  H.  R.  Hoishigton^  Missionary  from  Ceylon. 

"  I  feel  that  I  could  enter  into  your  cause  with  all  my  heart ;  and 
perhaps  could  sa?/  somelhing  on  the  point  of  foreign  distribution; 
but  the  state  of  my  Himily  detains  me,  and  the  Lord'i  ways  are  the 
best." 

Letter  from    Ucv.  John  Scudder,  missionary  from    MadraSf 
dated  Ncw-YorJ:,  Oct.  25. 

"  It  has  pleased  my  heavenly  Father  to  lay  me  aside  iVom  all 
active  duty  for  the  present.  Of  course  I  shall  be  unable  to  render 
you  any  assistance  at  your  approaching  meetings.  Indeed  I  shall 
be  prevented  from  attending  them  altogether.  This,  as  you  may 
suppose,  is  a  severe  trial,  since  no  missionary  of  the  Cross  is  perhaps 
under  greater  obligations  to  your  noble  Society  than  myself.  Per- 
haps few  have  distributed  so  many  of  your  publications.  For  several 
years,  as  you  know,  after  going  to  Madras,  I  took  long  tours  among 
the  people,  one  design  of  which  was  to  distribute  these  publications, 
and  every  year  conlirmed  me  in  the  belief  that  the  work  was  a 
blessed  work. 

"The  grand  object  of  the  missionary  is  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
But  he  does  not  find  an  enlightened  people,  w^ho  from  earliest  child- 
hood have  been  familiar  with  the  truths  which  he  proclaims.  He 
preaches  to  men  of  benighted  minds,  who  are  at  first  but  little  able 
to  comprehend  what  they  hear.  Hence  the  necessity  of  some  means 
to  bring  it  again  and  again  to  their  minds,  to  make  the  Tract  the 
companion  of  their  solitary  hours,  to  furnish  themes  for  their  medi- 
tations and  social  conversations,  and  thus  to  secure  a  constant  re- 
membrance of  what  they  have  heard,  which  God's  Spirit  may  render 
effectuai  to  their  salvation. 


248  ,  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

"  In  a  heathen  land  the  people  do  not  flock  to  ws  to  hear  the  Gos- 
pel :  we  must  go  to  them,  we  must  seek  them  out  in  the  highways 
and  the  hedges,  in  the  lanes  and  in  the  streets,  we  must  speak  a  word 
here  and  a  word  there.  And  often  at  their  temple  festivals  we  meet 
those  who  come  from  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and  who  may 
never  hear  the  Gospel  but  once.  These  we  may  never  see  again, 
but  we  can  give  them  a  Tract  which  silently  shall  impart  truths, 
over  which  while  they  ponder,  they  may  learn  the  Gospel  scheme 
of  Salvation. 

"Your  publications  prove  a  great  comfort  to  your  missionaries  in 
their  labors.  If  after  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  they  are 
able  to  leave  one  of  them  in  their  possession,  their  hopes  are  greatly 
strengthened  that  their  labors  will  not  be  in  vain.  The  missionary 
often  blesses  God  for  your  Society,  and  pra3-s  for  its  enlarged  action. 
When  his  voice  fails,  and  his  strength  v.'anes,  still  he  can  distribute 
the  printed  word,  and  he  knows  by  experience  the  might  of  the 
press  in  battling  with  the  institutions  of  idolatry.  He  knows  its 
energies  and  the  vast  controlling  instrumentality  which  it  exerts. 
Your  publications  also  prove  a  great  stimulus  to  him  to  go  forward 
in  his  tours.  I  must  say  that  could  I  not  have  availed  myself 
of  them,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Bible  Society,  I  think  I  should 
have  taken  but  comparatively  few  of  ihese  tours." 
''-  Dr.  Scudder  proceeds  to  state  a  number  of  interesting  facts,  show- 
ing that  Tracts  have  been  evidently  blessed  in  the  conversion  of 
many  souls. 

Thursday^  7  P.  M.  The  closing  meeting  was  one  of 
deep  and  solemn  interest.  After  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holmes^ 
Mr.  Hallock,  Secretary,  presented  the  following  document^ 
which  was  adopted,  and  referred  for  publication,  via. 


FINANCIAL    CONDITION    OF    THE    SOCIBTY.  149 


DOCUMENT  X, 

The  Financial  Condition  and  Necessities  of  the  Society, 

This  Society,  in  all  its  principles,  and  it  is  believed,  in 
its  proceedings,  has  been  truly  a  benevolent  Institution. 
From  the  first,  it  adopted  the  principle  of  making  no  profit 
on  its  sales;  and  an  examination  of  the  actual  results  for 
fifteen  years  has  shown  that  the  total  receipts  for  publica- 
tions sold  did  not  equal  the  total  cost  of  issuing  the  same 
by  1|  per  cent.  Applications  for  grants  of  publications  for 
the  destitute,  where  there  seemed  a  reasonable  prospect  of 
usefulness,  have  never  been  denied  *  and  these  gratuitous 
issues  no.v  amount  to  about  $10,003  annually.  The  So- 
ciety has  also  struggled  to  meet  the  calls  of  Providence 
from  foreign  and  pagan  lands  ;  its  foreign  pecuniary  grants 
amounting  in  all  to  $236,500. 

The  Institution  is  still  endeavoring  to  promote  both  mis- 
cellaneous and  systematic  Tract  distribution,  according  to 
all  the  wants  of  men,  within  our  own  borders,  on  the 
ocean,  or  at  the  most  distant  port  and  island  of  the  globe. 
It  is  attempting  to  supply  all  our  accessible,  and  especially 
our  more  destitute  population  with  volumes ;  to  arouse 
christians  to  faithful  effort  for  the  souls  of  men  in  connec- 
tion with  the  dispersion  of  both  volumes  and  Tracts;  and 
to  effect  the  object  by  sending  into  the  more  destitute  coun- 
ties the  faithful  colporleur  to  call, out  the  co-operation  of 
christians,  and  seek  to  convey  to  every  family  one  or  more 
of  the  Society's  publications  by  sale  or  gift.  It  is  aiding 
the  feeble  churches  of  Europe  in  their  struggles  to  revive 
a  pure  Christianity;    and  lends  a  compassionate  ear  to 

8* 


150  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

every  call  for  the  perishing — in  the  countries  around  the 
Mediterranean;  in  Africa;  in  India;  in  China — in  what- 
ever land  or  clime  men  are  found  who  may  thus  bo 
blessed. 

THE    society's  WANTS. 

It  was  estimated  in  the  resolutions  of  the  Society  at  the 
last  Anniversary,  that  it  would  need  to  employ  at  least 
$40,000  for  our  own  country,  and  $40,000  for  foreign  and 
pagan  lands  during  the  current  year.  Its  operations  are 
in  progress  both  at  homo  and  abroad,  with  evidence  per- 
haps never  before  equalled  of  the  smiles  and  blessing 
of  God  ; — and  shall  it  be  told  that  the  total  donations  re- 
ceived during  the  first  half  of  the  Society's  current  year 
were  but  $9533  32  exclusive  of  legacies,  the  latter  having 
in  the  kind  providence  of  God  amounted  to  nearly  an 
equal  sum  ;  that  the  total  receipts  for  foreign  distribution 
in  the  same  period  were  but  $1510  86;  and  that  the  So- 
ciety's receipts  are  short  of  meeting  dues  to  the  present 
time  by  upwards  of  $5000. 

Nor  is  this  merely  a  sudden  or  transient  diminution  of 
receipts.  The  donations  to  the  Society  which  for  five 
years  ending  in  1839  had  averaged  $56,000  annually, 
fell  in  the  two  succeeding  years  to  $41,000  ;  and  the  last 
year  to  $35,000 ;  and  the  Society's  foreign  grants,  which 
for  seven  years  had  averaged  upwards  of  $26,000,  fell  the 
last  year  to  $15,000. 

The  Committee  need  not  speak  of  the  pain  it  has  given 
them  thus  to  curtail  the  amounts  expected  by  our  self-de- 
nying and  devoted  missionaries  and  other  laborers  abroad. 
To  Rev.  Mr.  Rule  in  Spain,  who  expected  $300,  and  has 
expended  the  whole,  the  Committee  were  able  to  remit 
nothing.  To  the  Society  at  Toulouse,  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  friends  constituting  the  American  Swiss  Com- 
mittee in  Geneva,  and  who  are  laboring  to  supply  France 


FINANCIAL   CONDITION   OP   THE   SOCIETY.  151 

with  evangelical  volumes,  they  were  able  to  send  but  $500, 
instead  of  $1000  expected.  To  the  Paris  Religious  Tract 
Society ;  the  Societies  at  Strasbourg,  Calw,  and  Barmen; 
and  to  the  Prussian  Tract  Society  who  labor  for  Hungary, 
the  Bohemians,  Wendes  and  Poles,  all  of  whom  expected 
$1300,  the  Committee  were  able  to  send  nothing.  To 
friends  in  Russia  who  expected  $2000,  they  were  able  to 
send  but  $1000.  To  the  three  missions  in  Greece  $1000 
instead  of  2300.  To  the  mission  in  Turkey  $1500  in- 
stead of  $2500.  To  the  missions  among  the  Mahrattas, 
only  the  small  sum  of  $600.  To  Madura  and  Madras 
$1300  instead  of  $2500.  To  Orissa  but  $500,  one  half 
of  the  sum  proposed.  To  the  Genepl  Assembly's  Mis- 
sions in  Northern  India  and  to  Chink  $2000  instead  of 
$3000.  To  Burmah  $800  instead  of  $1500.  To  the 
missions  in  Siam  $1200  instead  of  1800.  To  Java  and 
Borneo  nothing.  To  the  Sandwich  Islands  $1000  in- 
stead of  $1500.  In  all  but  $15,000,  where  $30,000  were 
evidently  needed. 

The  missions  to  the  Mahrattas,  nearly  one  year  since,, 
had  used  all  the  funds  committed  to  them,  and  stopped 
their  presses.  The  mission  to  Turkey,  occupying  stations 
at  Smyrna,  Constantinople,  Broosa,  Trebizond,  and  Erze- 
roum,  in  August  last,  had  exceeded  the  total  grants  from 
the  Society  by  about  $1500;  and  their  affecting  plea  for 
immediate  remittances,  that  they  may  go  on  preparing  ali- 
ment, especially  for  the  Armenians,  whom  God  is  so  much 
blessing  by  his  Spirit,  will  be  laid  before  the  Board.  But 
the  Society  has  no  means  to  meet  the  claims  of  either. 
The  sum  of  $300,  voted  for  the  Lower  Saxony  Tract  So- 
ciety at  Hamburg,  whose  Depot  and  stereotype  plates  were 
consumed  in  the  late  conflagration  in  that  city,  the  Society 
have  been  unable  yet  to  remit. 

The  Committee  ask  the  Board  and  friends  assembled  if 
these  requests  shall  still  be  denied  ?  and  how  the  Society 
shall  obtain  means  to  meet  ihem  ?  Are  we,  as  a  people,  de- 


152  DELIBERATIVE   MEETING. 

prived  of  every  comfort,  and  every  luxury,  and  even  the 
means  of  subsistence,  that  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  of  our 
dying  Lord  must  thus  be  hindered  ?  Shall  our  benevo- 
lence thus  cease  to  flow,  and  our  ears  be  closed  to  the  cry 
of  the  perishing?  Cannot  something  be  done?  Must  we 
appear  before  God  in  judgment  with  garments  thus  red 
with  the  blood  of  souls  ? 

A  full  view  of  the  subject  requires  the  Committee  to 
state,  that  while  they  believe  the  Society  never  had  more 
fully  the  confidence  of  Evangelical  pastors,  churches,  and 
christians  generally — a  thousand  streams  which  once 
cherished  the  Society  have  ceased  to  flow.  Of  eleven  or 
twelve  hundred  Auxiliaries  which  once  contributed  to  the 
Society,  only  sixty-four  remitted  a  donation  during  the 
last  year.  In  all  the  States  west  of  the  Alleghany  and 
north  of  the  Ohio,  but  one  Auxiliary  remitted  a  donation. 
In  all  the  South-western  States  but  one.  In  all  the  Southern 
Atlantic  States  but  one.  In  all  the  country  west  and  south 
of  Pennsylvania  but/owr.  Many  churches  which  annually 
gladdened  the  Society  by  their  contributions  have  allowed 
one,  two,  or  three  years  to  pass  and  remitted  nothing. 
Many  ladies  oxidi  others  who  made  and  remitted  collections 
have  paused  in  their  exertions.  Many  individuals  who 
voluntarily  sent  in  their  own  donations  have  failed  so  to  do ; 
and  many  wealthy  friends  who  on  an  emergency  gave  by 
hundreds  and  thousand?,  are  now  unable  to  give  by  tens. 

It  should  be  further  distinctly  stated,  that  in  the  view 
of  the  Committee  this  deficiency  is  not  to  be  attributed 
wholly  to  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  country, 
though  they  have  had  and  still  have  their  influence.  Nor 
in  their  view  is  it  to  be  ascribed  mainly  to  the  diversion 
of  funds  to  other  objects  of  benevolence.  The  want  of 
steady  systematic  individual  exertion  hy  those  more  im- 
v^ediately  connected  with  the  Society,  and  by  the  Pastors 
and  members  of  the  churches  generally^  is  doubtless  the 
ehief  ground  of  the  present  depression.    When  the  Secre- 


FINANCIAL   CONDITION    OF    THE    SOCIETY.  153 

tary  or  Agent  has  publicly  presented  the  Society's  claims, 
contributions  have  been  made ;  but  the  voluntary  efforts 
of  Pastors,  Churches,  Auxiliaries  and  individuals  have  too 
nearly  ceased.  There  is  the  same  deficiency  of  voluntary 
christian  co-operation  in  distributing  Tracts  and  books,  and 
speaking  to  men  of  the  Great  Salvation.  Yet  who  does  not 
know  that  whether  in  obtaining  funds,  or  endeavors  for 
the  souls  of  men,  the  work  cannot  be  done  wholly  or 
chiefly  by  paid  laborers?  The  men  cannot  be  found,  nor 
could  the  churches  support  them.  The  piety  of  members 
of  the  church  who  excuse  themselves  from  self-denying 
personal  exertion  will  wither;  and  how  shall  the  self- 
moved  benevolence  of  the  Gospel  appear  to  all  men,  if 
none  labor  but  those  who  are  paid  ? 

Is  it  a  fact  that  we  send  our  missionaries  abroad,  and 
employ  Pastors  and  Agents  at  home,  to  do  a  work  from 
which  Christ's  redeemed  people  are  wholly  to  excuse 
themselves?  Thou  bleeding  Lamb  of  God!  who  didst 
ihyself  come  down  to  die,  and  hast  commanded  us  to  bear 
the  cross  and  follow  thee,  and  be  "always  abounding" 
in  thy  work — shall  we  render  no  voluntary/  service  for  the 
souls  of  men,  and  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  thy  blessed 
name  ! 

The  Committee  are  persuaded  that  here  mainly  lies  the 
evil  to  be  remedied.  Let  all  the  respected  Pastors  of  the 
churches,  and  every  member,  do  something,  yea,  do  much 
for  the  cause  of  benevolence — let  every  one,  bought  by 
the  price  of  blood,  consecrate  his  cheerful,  self-moved,  self- 
denying  prayerful  efforts  to  God  and  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel, — and  the  great  work  of  man's  Salvation  will  not  be 
hindered.  God  is  showing  us  Iiow  we  may  labor,  if  we 
consecrate  to  him  the  willing  heart  and  active,  liberal 
hand.  This  consecration  to  Him  will  remove  our  grief 
for  these  deficiencies,  and  turn  our  lamentation  into  praise. 

We  shall  not  then  be  found  coolly  sitting  down  to  cal- 
culate  what  department  of  benevolence  can  best  be  deserii 


15  i  DELIBERATIVE    MEETIN(i. 

ed — what  schools  disbanded — what  presses  stopped.  Ra- 
ther shall  we  hold  the  present  generation  of  men  at  home 
and  abroad  distinctly  before  our  vision,  and  seek  to  give 
ell  whom  we  can  approach  the  knowledge  of  Salvation  be- 
fore they  die. 

The  Committee  solemnly  avow  their  purpose  to  do 
what  they  can,  by  all  means  within  their  influence,  dis- 
creetly and  systematically,  to  gain  the  co-operation  of  the 
people  of  God.  Four  devoted  men  they  have  just  com- 
missioned as  General  Agents  for  the  distant  West  and 
South,  who  will  there  seek  to  gain  the  same  result.  And 
the  Committee  earnestly  and  affectionately  ask  the  Board, 
the  Pastors  and  the  individuals  present,  male  and  female 
— not  whether  these  labors  of  love  shall  go  on — for  we 
must  listen  to  the  voice  of  God's  word,  and  providence, 
and  Spirit;  yea, '' wo  is  unto  us"  if  we  publish  not  by 
ten  thousand  tongues  the  Gospel  of  our  crucified  Lord — 
but  will  the  members  of  the  Board,  will  the  Pastors,  will 
all  give  their  counsel,  their  active,  individual,  prayer- 
ful, self-denying  efforts  to  raise  the  Society  from  its  halt- 
ing, and  carry  these  means  o(  grace  to  millions  ready  to 
parish  ? 

Rev.  Mr.  Eastman;  Secretary,  then  presented  letters  as  above, 
from  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins,  missionary  from  Ooromiah  ;  Rev.  Mr. 
Hoisington,  missionary  from  Ceylon,  who  were  providentially 
detained  from  the  meeting;  and  also  from  Rev.  Dr.  Scudder, 
who  was  confined  by  sickness  in  New-York,  but  convalescing, 
who  has  labored  twenty-two  years  in  Southern  India,  and  has 
probably  performed  more  labor  in  tours  for  Tract  distribution 
than  any  other  missionary. 

Mr.  Eastman  also  read  a  highly  interesting  letter  from  Rev. 
Mr.  Adger,  of  the  mission  to  Turkey,  in  which  he  shows  the 
inquiring  state  of  the  minds  of  the  Armenians,  the  publications 
in  progress  and  called  for,  and  the  painful  fact  that  all  the  So- 
ciety's grants  had  been  expended,  and  a  debt  of  near  $1500  in- 
curred by  the  mission  ;  entreating  the  Society  to  give  them  the 


FINANCIAL    CONDITION    OF    THE    SOCIETY.  155 

means  of  going  forward  in  their  work  so  evidently  owned  by 
the  presence  and  blessing  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  various 
considerations  and  statements  contained  in  these  letters  and  in 
the  above  document  on  the  pecuniary  wants  of  the  Society  were 
urged  by  Mr.  E.  with  great  earnestness,  and  anxious  appeals 
for  the  liberality  and  prompt  and  persevering  effort  necessary  to 
enable  the  Society  to  go  on  without  faltering  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  labor  to  which,  in  the  successive  preceding  meet- 
ings, attention  had  been  given. 

WILLIAM  ROPES,  Esq.  a  christian  merchant,  who  has  long  and 
successfully  labored  in  St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  in  connection  with  his 
family  and  a  choice  circle  of  friends,  then  presented  a  view  of  Tract 
operations  among  the  60,000,000  of  that  empire.  No  laborers  in  this 
work  have  been  more  evidently  blessed  from  on  high.  When  he  arriv- 
ed there  almost  nothing  was  attempted  in  this  department ;  but  God 
had  opened  the  way  and  given  them  favor  with  the  censor  of  the 
press  and  all  in  authority  ;  and  friends  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  Em- 
pire, in  Estonia,  Finland,  Sweden,  on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and 
even  in  Siberia  and  on  the  borders  of  China  had  actively  engaged  in 
the  distribution,  and  had  sent  them  communications  of  the  most  cheer- 
ing character,  twenty  or  more  of  which  he  had  in  possession,  and 
would  gladly  have  read  them  to  the  meeting  had  time  allowed. 

At  an  early  stage  of  their  operations,  Mr.  R.  had  opportunity  to 
lay  the  subject  before  the  Grand  Duchess  Helen,  wife  of  the  Gra:  d 
Duke  Michael,  the  Emperor's  brother,  and  a  woman  of  exalted  worth. 
From  that  day  they  proceeded  boldly  in  their  operations.  They  knew 
the  Emperor  would  prohibit  nothing  which  he  judged  to  be  for  the 
real  good  of  his  people.  They  established  a  Dep6t.  The  Tracts  be- 
came popular.  They  were  read  in  the  palace.  Some  were  handsomely 
bound  and  sent  there.  The  Emperor  and  his  sister  gave  them  their 
approbation.  From  that  time  they  have  gone  on  prosperously.  The 
Jilinister  of  Public  Instruction  reports  very  favorably  of  the  Tracts 
and  of  the  friends  by  whom  they  are  supplied.  They  print  in  the  five 
languages  spoken  in  Russia,  and  purchase  from  abroad  in  ten  langua- 
ges, for  the  use  of  the  numerous  foreigners  congregated  there.  Every 
convict  exiled  to  Siberia  is  invariably  furnished  with  a  Bible  and 
Tracts.  Noblemen  from  the  interior  have  in  many  instances  purchas- 
ed quantities  of  books  for  the  use  of  their  peasantry,  to  whom  they 
have  proved  highly  beneficial,  A  convict  in  Siberia,  when  on  the 
point  of  committing  suicide,  had  a  Tract  brought  to  him,  and  it  was 
the  means  of  his  conversion.  He  has  become  a  preacher  of  righ- 
teouencsB. 


156  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

There  were  some  very  pious  Germans  in  St.  Petersburg.  Two 
hundred  or  three  hundred  meet  for  prayer.  This  they  might  have 
done  without  molestation,  by  notifying  the  police.  This  was  neglect- 
ed, and  their  enemies  entered  a  complaint.  An  officer  was  sent  to 
put  down  the  meeting.  He  had  in  the  house  where  it  was  held  a  very 
pious  sister.  He  told  her  of  his  errand,  and  she  most  earnestly  dis- 
suaded him  from  performing  it,  if  he  could  avoid  it.  He  returned  to 
the  Emperor,  and  reported  that  the  people  so  assembled  did  nothing 
but  pray.  "  Pray  !"  exclaimed  that  august  personage,  **  let  them 
pray.  We  need  all  their  prayers.  Let  no  one  venture  to  disturb 
them." 

One  lady,  converted  through  a  Tract  from  the  good  Princess  Mct- 
chersky,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  devoted  laborer  in  the  Tract  cause  to  be 
found  any  where  in  the  world.  She  enjoys  direct  tokens  of  the  im- 
perial approbation  of  her  benevolent  weekly  visits  to  distribute  Bibles 
and  Tracts  in  the  immense  hospitals. 

Great  numbers  of  Tracts  are  sent  to  the  annual  fair.  Some  are 
ho'ight  by  merchants  from  Ahkta,  a  town  on  the  frontiers  of  China, 
and  they  have  found  their  way  even  to  the  "  great  wall."  There  is  a 
vast  field  for  Tract  operations  in  the  Russian  empire.  The  wonder 
and  gratitude  of  the  people  is  intensely  excited  by  the  liberality  of 
their  distant  friends,  who  thus  send  them  the  word  of  life. 

The  total  issues  at  St.  Petersburg  the  last  year  were  215,000  pub- 
lications ;  and  the  total  issues  in  ten  years,  2,400,000,  all  decidedly 
evanprelicai  in  their  character. 

O 

Letter  from  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander,  D.  D.  Pri?iceton,  N.  J. 

"  After  a  full  survey  of  all  the  plans  of  doing  good  to  the  souls  of 
men,  which  are  now  in  operation,  it  is  my  deliberate  opinion,  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  circulating  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  there  is  none  which  promises  to  be  more  efficient, 
and  more  extensively  useful,  in  promoting  the  spiritual  and  eternal 
interests  of  men,  than  the  publication  and  wide  circulation  of  sound 
evangelical  books  and  Tracts.  And  if  I  were  to  undertake  to  select 
a  set  of  volumes,  which,  in  my  judgment,  it  would  be  most  beneficial 
to  circulate,  I  should  undoubtedly  make  choice  of  a  large  proportion 
of  the  volumes  which  have  been  published  by  the  American  Tract 
Society.  No  books  that  were  ever  written  by  uninspired  men  are 
hotter  adapted  to  promote  true  religion  among  the  people,  and  none 
were  ever  more  successful  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  edifi- 
cation of  the  people  of  God,  than  many  of  those  on  your  list,  and 


FINANCIAL    CONDITION    OF    THE    SOCIETY.  157 

which  are  now  in  the  course  of  rapid  circulation.  Many  of  these 
authors  have  received  the  approbation  and  sanction  of  the  judicious 
and  pious  for  two  hundred  years,  and  their  value  is  as  highly  appre- 
ciated now  as  it  ever  was.  When  I  reflect  on  the  number  of  these 
pious  and  excellent  works  which,  within  a  few  years,  have  been  scat- 
tered through  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  land,  I  cannot  but  rejoice 
and  give  thanks  to  God  that  so  much  precious  seed  has  been  sown, 
which  lliere  is  every  reason  to  hope  will  in  due  time  spring  up  and 
bring  forth  a  rich  harvest  when  the  present  generation  shall  have 
passed  away. 

"  Two  millions  of  volumes  and  sixty  millions  of  smaller  treatises 
have  been  put  into  the  hands  of  our  reading  population.  And  the 
bound  volumes  possess  this  advantage  over  even  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  that  they  furnish  permanent  lessons  of  instruction.  The  book 
may  be  perused  again  and  again  by  the  same  person,  and  the  same 
book  may  be  read,  before  it  perishes  by  the  lapse  of  time,  by  some 
hundreds  of  individuals — for  many  of  these  precious  volumes  will  be 
preserved  for  centuries,  and  will  descend  as  a  valued  legacy  from 
father  to  son,  and  from  the  mother  to  the  daughter.  There  are  now 
ih  good  preservation,  many  books  which  have  been  in  common  use 
lor  more  than  two  hundred  years,  and  which  have  been  read  by  some 
half  dozen  successive  generations,  and  by  many  others  beside  the 
owners.  The  writer  can  well  recollect  when  such  books  as  Alleine's 
Alarm,  Baxter's  Saints'  Rest  and  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  and  the 
excellent  treatises  of  Owen  and  Flavel,  passed  through  the  hands  of 
most  families  in  the  neighborhood.  He  has  known  more  instances 
than  one,  in  which  aged  men  of  piety  made  it  a  practice  to  borrow 
euch  books  and  carry  them  to  persons  who  stood  in  particular  need 
of  them.  Let  the  person  who  contributes  enough  to  pay  the  expense 
of  publishing  a  single  volume,  reflect  that  he  is  providing  spiritual 
nutriment,  not  only  for  the  present  generation,  but  for  generations  yet 
to  be  born.  And  if,  instead  of  giving  circulation  to  one,  he  contributes 
funds  sufficient  for  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  volumes,  who  can  calcu- 
late the  amount  of  good  which  a  christian  in  moderate  circumstances 
may  accomplish  1 

*•  But  this  brings  me  to  a  very  painful  part  of  my  subject.  In  the 
circular  of  the  Committee  calling  a  public  meeting  of  the  Board,  the 
mortifying  fact  is  brought  to  light,  that  after  the  lapse  of  five  months 
no  more  than  $1500  had  been  received  for  foreign  distribution,  when 
the  sum  urgently  demanded  for  this  field  alone  is  $40,000.  And  that 
of  $40,000  needed  for  home  distribution,  no  more  than  $7000,  ex- 
clusive of  legacies,  had  been  paid  into  the  treasury.  What  does 
this  meanl     Have  the  christian  public  lost  sight  of  this  enterprise,  so 


15S 


DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 


intimately  connected  with  the  Salvation  of  men  at  home  and  abroad  ! 
Or  is  it  the  hardness  of  the  times  which  has  thus  dried  up  the  streams 
which  should  have  flowed  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  1     But  chris- 
tians have  not  been  prevented  by  the  hardness  of  the  times  from  ex- 
pending large  sums  in  mere  luxuries.  There  is  not  an  article  of  luxury 
in  common  use  v;hich  does  not  cost  the  christian  public  more  than  all 
the  contributions  to  every  benevolent  Society  and  religious  Institution 
in  the  land.  For  Christ's  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  perishing  immortals, 
let  not  the  curtailment  of  expenses  begin  with  the  treasury  of  the 
Lord.    I  do  hope  that  upon  reflection  many,  even  of  those  who  are  iu 
embarrassed  circumstances,  will  be  induced  lirst  to  part  with  super- 
fluous ornaments  and  furniture,  and  lessen  the  expenses  of  their  richly 
spread  tables  before  thoy  abstract  any  thing  from  the  sum  which  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  lay  upon  the  altar  of  the  Lord.  That  money 
is  best  invested,  and  will  ultimately  bring  in  the  richest  harvest,  which 
is  lent  to  the  Lord.     Even  in   this  world  none  of  our  expenses  bear 
reflection    like   those  which  were  incurred   to   aid  in  advancing   the 
kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.     The  limes  are  indeed  hard,  and  most 
men  are  environed  with  difficulties.    Every  thing  relating  to  currency 
and  trade   is  out  of  joint.     The  curse  of  the  Almighty  has  fallen  on 
our   pecuniary  Institutions.     Confusion,   failure,  disappointment  and 
ruin  have  been  visited   on  those   things  which  among  men  were  con- 
sidered the  most  stable.     But   to  what  should  the  christian  attribute 
this  unhappy  state  of  things  1     Ought  he  not  to  see  the  hand  of  God 
in  all  these  matters  1    Jehovah  is  vindicating  his  own  right,  and  while 
he  punishes  grasping  avarice,  he  sends  a  blast  on  that  properly  which 
has  not  been  sanctified  by  the  consecration  of  the  first  fruits  to  Him. 
Let  christians  be  assured  that  these  hard  times  will  not  come  to  an 
end  until  they  learn  to  bring  in  literally  and  fully  their  tithes,  first 
fruits,  and  free-will  oflerings  to  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.     And  when 
we  have  returned  to  our  duty,  then  may  we  hope  that  the  Lord  will 
return  to  us.     He  calls  upon  his  people  to  put  him  to  the  proof,  by 
complying  with  all  his  requisitions.     '  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the 
storehouse,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  Host?,  if  I 
will  not  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it.'  " 

Letter  from  Hon.  Herman  Camp,  Trumansburg,  N.  York. 

"  All  the  counsel  I  could  give  were  I  to  attend,  would  be  to  advise 
a  systematic  effort  among  all  the  churches:  I  mean  an  annual  suh- 
scription  on  pcrper  by  each  church  member,  however  small  some  of  the 
Bubscriptions  might  be.  By  this  means  I  have  found  that  the  coiitri- 
btilions  are  doubled,  and  in  some  cases  trebled." 


CHRISTIAN    CONSECRATION.  159 

Letter  from  Rev.  Elisha  Yalc,D.D.  Kingshoro\  N.  Yorl:. 

"  I  was  much  pleased  at  the  proposal  for  the  Meeting,  and  espe- 
cially that  one  topic  of  consultation  was>  the  expediency  of  attempting 
to  give  at  least  one  Tract  to  all  of  this  generation  of  the  unevangel- 
ized  before  they  die.  I  think  the  expense  of  travelling  to  the  Meeting 
laid  out  in  Tracts  may  do  more  good  than  my  presence  ;  and  this  sum 
I  intend  to  consecrate  to  the  work. 

"Allow  me  to  suggest,  with  all  deference,  the  propriety  of  holding 
a  Special  Meeting  in  each  congregation  as  soon  as  your  doivgs  can  be 
sent  out  to  encourage  us.  I  intend  to  have  such  a  Meeting  in  my 
church,  and  let  the  people  know  what  you  are  doing,  and  invite  them 
to  co-operate  in  the  good  work." 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  President  of  the  Society, 
who  had  been  expected  to  prepare  a  Document,  presented 
the  substance  of  the  same  in  a  most  solemn  and  eloquent 
appeal,  which  produced  a  subduing  effect  on  the  audience, 
and  caused  them  to  feel  that  in  very  deed  the  presence  of 
God  was  among  them,  and  that  it  was  good  to  be  there.  It 
was  in  substance  as  follows: 


DOCUMENT  XL 

The  Xecesslty  of  a  higher  Standaril  of  Christian  Consecration. 

Mr.  F.  said  :  I  deeply  regret  that  the  pressure  of  other 
duties  which  could  not  be  postponed,  has  prevented  the 
preparation  of  the  Document  assigned  to  me  by  the  Exe- 
cutive Committee  as  my  part  in  these  interesting  services. 
And  I  have  still  greater  cause  to  regret  a  necessary  ab- 
sence from  so  many  of  your  sessions.  It  is  refreshing  to 
meet  with  such  christian  convocations,  and  consult  on  the 
great  concerns  of  Zion  and  her  prosperity.     The  interest 


160  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

of  such  conventions  is  increased,  when  God  in  his  provi- 
dence brings  his  people  into  straits  and  trials,  and  con- 
strains them  to  look  away  from  an  arm  of  fiesh  and  all 
human  sympath3s  and  shuts  them  up  to  a  simple  and  ab- 
solute reliance  on  Himself.  Such  a  crisis  meets  us  now» 
in  this  department  of  benevolence.  And  if  we  can,  with 
a  pious  king-  of  Israel  beset  by  formidable  enemies,  lift 
the  heart  to  God — and  like  him,  in  view  of  the  whole  field 
of  enterprise,  the  energies  for  evil  of  an  irreligious  press 
and  the  prevalence  of  error,  the  earnest  cries  of  a  perish- 
ing world,  and  the  declining  faith  and  zeal  of  the  churches 
— if  we  can  exclaim,  "  We  cannot  meet  this  great  com- 
pany, neither  know  we  what  to  do,  but  our  eyes  are  upon 
Thee ;" — a  deliverance  will  come  and  our  fears  be  relieved. 
The  pious  Jehoshaphat  saw  the  enemies  of  his  people 
scattered  like  the  chaflTof  the  summer  threshing-floor,  and 
the  Hearer  of  prayer  will  grant  to  the  same  spirit  now 
equally  glorious  manifestations.  It  is  good  to  meet  these 
exigencies;  whatever  brings  us  to  the  deep  conviction 
that  help  can  come  from  God  alone  is  profitable  for  us. 
Then  the  soul  looks  away  to  the  mercy-seat,  and  takes 
firmer  hold  of  the  faithful  promise  of  a  covenant-God. 
The  subject  that  was  particularly  assigned  to  me,  is  the 
necessity  of  a  higher  standard  of  christian  consecration, 
and  every  heart  feels  that  there  is  an  urgent  need  of  this 
temper.  A  careful  observer  of  Providence  must  have 
perceived  in  the  last  few  years  the  clear  indications  of  an 
approaching  crisis,  when  the  Church  would  be  called  to 
larger  measures  of  liberality  than  she  has  been  accustom- 
ed to  extend. 

God  seemed  of  design  to  arrange  his  dispensations  so 
that  this  duty  should  press  upon  the  heart  with  unwonted 
claims.  He  has  been  abridging  the  means  of  his  people. 
He  has  dashed  many  a  promising  scheme  of  wealth,  cut 
off  resources  and  diminished  the  returns  of  business;  and 
daring  the  same  time  He  has  opened  new  and  extensive 


CHKISTIAxN    CONSECKATIOX.  161 

fields  for  moral  cultivation  ;  obstacles  have  been  removed, 
the  progress  of  the  truth  all  over  the  earth  is  in  hopeful 
motion,  and  never  before  have  such  encouragements  been 
afforded  to  the  highest  efforts  of  christian  philanthropy. 
If  we  draw  back  now,  if  we  fail  to  sustain  the  past  contri- 
butions, these  sacred  charities  will  not  only  pause,  but 
most  fatally  decline.  And  who  can  calmly  contemplate 
such  a  consequence  ? 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  friends  of  the  Redeemer  are  in 
sad  mistake  with  regard  to  this  subject.  It  was  intimated 
in  the  correspondence  read  on  the  first  afternoon  of  our 
meeting,  that  christians  were  generally  prone  to  refer  the 
whole  responsibility  of  these  enterprises  to  the  immediate 
conductors,  the  Secretaries  and  other  prominent  Agents. 
Probably  the  misapprehension  is  still  more  vital.  There 
is  a  view  of  divine  sovereignty,  which  although  it  may 
not  rise  to  a  distinct  expression,  yet  I  fear  does  exist  and 
impair  the  vigor  of  faith  and  hope.  The  thought  is,  that 
God  will  carry  on  the  work  of  conversion,  and  because 
He  must  interpose  by  his  Almighty  Spirit,  if  it  moves  at 
all,  we  are  too  apt  to  ascribe  the  whole  to  his  sovereign 
good  pleasure,  and  come  very  slovvly  to  the  persuasion 
that  our  agency  is  needed  or  required.  Now  it  is  a  bless- 
ed  Gospel  truth  that  God  is  sovereign,  but  let  us  not 
forget  that  it  is  a  sovereignty  exerted  according  to  es- 
tablished laws   ascertained    and  fixed  as  his  throne a 

sovereignty  that  connects  the  feeblest  causes  with  the 
mightiest  results — that  ordains  the  means  with  the  end, 
the  prayer  with  the  answer,  the  diligence  with  the  bless- 
ing. Zion  has  sent  up  her  constant  supplications,  "  Thy 
kingdom  come;"  and  the  Lord  has  given  the  response  as 
clearly  as  if  He  had  written  it  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
heavens,  "My  kingdom  shall  come  certainly  and  glo- 
riously,  but  only  by  this  mode :  when  my  people  plead 
for  its  advent  with  fervent  desire,  attended  by  faithful 
labors  ;   when  they  show  by  their  self-denying  and  holy 


J62  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

consecration  that  they  prize  its  coming  better  than  ihofl" 
sands  of  silver  and  gold."  We  have  met  the  exigency, 
my  friends,  when  the  Savior  expects  of  his  people  to  give 
more  decided  and  costly  proofs  than  ever  before  of  their 
attachment  to  his  kingdom.  The  remark  was  once  ven- 
tured, that  the  time  would  arrive  when  christians  would 
fear  to  die  rich,  unless  in  good  works.  I  firmly  believe 
that  it  is  at  the  door,  that  the  hour  is  knocking  at  the 
heart  of  the  wealthy  christian ;  and  as  he  repairs  to  the 
cross  and  surveys  its  unutterable  mysteries  of  crucified 
love,  and  then  looks  over  his  treasures,  he  will  put  the  af- 
fecting inquiry  to  his  own  heart,  "Shall  I  longer  keep  my 
bold  of  these  to  agrandize  myself  and  exalt  my  children 
to  the  high  places  of  the  world,  or  shall  I  lay  them  all 
down  at  the  feet  of  Him  who  bought  me  with  his  blood  ?" 
[t  is  an  honest  question,  and  must  have  an  honest  answer, 
by  the  light  and  under  the  responsibilities  of  the  eternal 
world.  I  trust  that  this  momentous  question  will  be  held 
up  to  the  minds  of  the  rich  until  it  shall  rest  upon  their 
hearts  with  the  weight  of  christian  obligation.  Where 
is  the  wealthy  christian  that  can  consent  to  die  worth 
hundreds  of  thousand  dollars,  and  leave  six  hundred  mil- 
lions of  his  fellow-men  perishing  for  want  of  the  Gospel ; 
to  die  rich  in  those  means,  for  the  want  of  which  afilict- 
ed  Zion  is  bleeding  at  every  pore? 

And  to  all  conditions  I  would  urge,  that,  as  a  general 
law  of  providence,  poverty  is  not  the  fruit  of  a  judicious 
liberality  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  According  to  his  admi- 
nistration, they  who  give  bountifully  shall  reap  also 
bountifully.  But  suppose  it  should  issue  otherwise,  what 
a  precious  memorial  it  would  be  for  children,  and  what 
lasting  honor  to  the  parent,  to  have  the  record  run  in  such 
bright  lines  as  these :  He  was  rich  in  worldly  possessions, 
liut  such  was  his  estimate  of  the  heavenly  treasures,  that 
he  wore  out  his  life  and  his  fortune  in  doing  good.  The 
poor,  the  wandering,  and  thousands  ready  to  perish,  em- 


CHRISTIAN    CONSECRATION,  163 

balm  his  memory.  He  parted  with  the  riches  of  lime,  and 
has  gone  to  the  rewards  that  will  never  deceive  his  hopes, 
nor  fail  in  enjoyment. 

Some  years  ago  (and  the  incident  will  not  suffer  be- 
eause  this  will  be  a  repetition)  one  of  our  missionaries 
from  Malta  on  a  visit  to  this  country,  was  presenting  the 
claims  of  benevolence  in  a  neighboring  town,  and  he 
assumed  as  the  basis  of  his  plea,  that  christian  liberality 
seldom  led  to  poverty  ;  that  God  would  take  care  of  his 
people;  that  He  who  gives  to  causes  their  efficiency,  who 
knows  and  controls  all  the  secret  springs  of  enterprise 
and  success,  would  vindicate  by  his  providence  the  bless- 
edness of  doing  good  even  for  time.  But,  said  he,  should 
It  so  happen  that  a  special  case  comes  up,  where  a  chris- 
tian is  impoverished  by  reason  of  his  charities,  I  should 
rejoice  in  the  privilege  of  an  interview  with  him.  I  would 
take  him  by  the  hand,  and  as  I  grasped  it,  with  a  full 
heart  I  would  say  to  him,  dear  brother,  you  are  the  first 
disciple  of  your  heavenly  Master  I  have  ever  seen  who 
has  faithfully  copied  his  example.  He  was  rich  in  the 
treasures  of  the  universe,  and  became  poor,  that  by  his 
poverty  we  might  become  rich. 

I  will  detain  you  with  only  one  other  incident.  When 
the  Executive  Committee  of  this  Society  were  lately  de- 
liberating on  the  expediency  of  this  meeting,  the  inquiry 
was  anxiously  going  round  the  table,  by  what  means  we 
should  awaken  the  churches  to  their  measure  of  consecra^ 
tion.  One  excellent  brother,  the  Senior  Secretary,  when 
the  question  reached  him,  replied,  ••  I  have  often  been  af~ 
fected  with  the  fact,  that  when  our  Society  in  past  years 
has  encountered  difficulties,  whatever  feeling  was  moved 
at  this  Board,  and  deeply  cherished  here,  went  abroad.  I 
found  it  among  the  churches.  I  cannot  tell;-said  he,  how 
it  was  conveyed— a  bird  took  it— I  don't  know  the  philo- 
sophy of  it— but  the  interesting  fact  I  know— and  I  fear 
the  feeling  is  not  strong  enough  in  our  own  hearts."  The 


164  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

remark,  I  perceived,  thrilled  on  every  spirit  there.  1  could 
see  emotion  kindling  as  he  spoke;  and  it  is  all  true.  This 
is  the  little  leaven  that  quickens,  we  cannot  tell  how,  but 
it  spreads  and  pervades  the  mass,  until  the  whole  is  lea- 
vened. So,  my  christian  friends,  let  that  blessed  influence 
live  to-night  in  this  place,  and  it  will  soon  expand  beyond 
these  walls,  and  whether  it  go  forth  from  a  small  assem- 
bly or  a  great  congregation,  it  will  tell  with  power  on  the 
heart  of  Zion.  We  may  not  trace  its  operation  in  the 
rending  of  the  rocks  or  the  falling  of  the  forests,  but  we 
shall  certainly  hear  of  it,  in  the  sweet  whispers  of  the 
Spirit's  still  small  voice,  and  in  the  rich  returns  of  His 
love. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  RICE,  of  Piinceton,  begged  permission  to  utter  the 
emotions  of  his  heart  on  the  subject  of  a  higher  standard  of  christian 
consecration.  Christians  must  practice  more  self-denial  for  Christ. 
We  must  diminish  the  expenses  of  our  table  and  our  wardrobe.  We 
were  as  a  people  extravagant.  He  believed  God's  hand  was  abroad 
among  us  to  bring  us  to  such  self-denial  as  shall  prove  the  means  of 
our  own  growth  in  grace  and  preparation  for  heaven,  and  the  only 
means  by  which  our  institutions  of  benevolence  can  now  be  supported 
without  faltering. 

An  a<^ed  widow  responded  to  these  appeals  by  voluntarily 
offering''$20,  one  half  for  Foreign  Distribution,  and  one  half 
for  Colporteurs ;  and  one  of  the  eloquent  speakers  testified  his 
sincerity  by  requesting  to  be  called  upon  for  a  donation  of  $100. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  following  Resolutions,  submitted  by  Rev.  Dr.  MILNOR^ 
were  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  deliberations  of  this  Meeting,  continued  during 
its  sessions  of  two  days,  have  deepened  the  impression  on  our  minda, 
that  the  Press,  while  its  powerful  agency  in  the  promotion  of  frivolity, 
error,  infidelity  and  corruption  is  to  be  greatly  deplored,  is  fitted  to 
exert  a  counteracting  influence  equally  powerful,  and  that  its  purifying 


^  .f 


RESOLUTIONS.  165 

issues,  when  connected  with  christian  conversation  and  efforts  for  the 
Salvation  of  men,  may  aid  the  ministry  effectually  in  spreading  the 
Gospel  at  home  and  abroad. 

Resolved,  That  this  Meeting  rejoice  in  the  high  evangelical  character 
of  the  Society's  publications,  and  their  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the 
present  generation  of  men  ;  and  in  what  the  Society  has  done  and  is 
domg  to  withstand  the  influence  of  a  corrupt  press,  and  to  aid  in  furnislv 
mg  for  our  own  and  foreign  lands,  a  practical  evangelical  literature. 

Resolved,  That  the  Providence  of  God  seems  evidently  callincr  on 
the  Society  for  renewed  vigor  in  supplying  the  present  generation  of 
men  with  Tracts  and  Volumes,  distributed  both  systematically  and 
miscellaneously,  as  opportunities  are  afforded,  and  that  the  more  des- 
titute portions  of  our  country,  including  the  German  population,  and 
all  who  have  embraced  dangerous  error,  have  peculiar  claims  to  be 
supplied  with  these  publications  and  the  labors  of  Colporteurs. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  work  before  the  Society,  as  brought 
under  the  consideration  of  this  Meeting,  the  sura  of  $40,000  p-onosed 
at  the  Society's  last  Anniversary  as  needed  for  our  own  country  and 
the  further  sum  of  $40,000  for  foreign  and  pagan  lands,  are,  in  the 
opinion  of  this  Meeting,  evidently  called  for  in  the  providence  of  God  • 
and  that  in  the  present  alarming  deficiency  of  pecuniary  means,  all  pas- 
tors churches,  auxiliaries  and  individuals,  male  and  'female  friendly 
to  the  Society,  are  hereby  earnestly  requested  to  adopt  the  means 
withm  their  power  to  relieve  this  want,  and  to  give  the  Society  their 
steady  and  systematic  support. 

Resolved,  That  while  this  Meeting  regret  that  so  many  esteemed 
and  venerated  officers  and  friends  have  been  detained  from  their  ses 
sions,  they  are  cheered  by  the  full  and  unanimous  expressions  of  con" 
fidence  and  deep  interest  in  the  Society  in  their  respective  communi 
cations  ;   and  that  the  entire  harmony  which  has  characterized  ail  our 
proceedmgs,  be  acknowledged  with  unfeigned  gratitude  to  God. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Meeting  be  tendered  to  the  gen- 
tlemen who  at  the  request  of  the  Committee,  have  prepared  for  this 
occasion  valuable  Documents,  in  which  the  great  principles  of  our  as- 
sociation have  been-ably  unfolded,  and  our  duty  impressively  enforced 

^e.oZ..i  That  the  thanks  of  the  Meeting  be  tendered  to  the  choir 
of  the  Broadway  Tabernacle  for  their  presence  and  aid  on  this  occasion. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  Mr.  Romeyn,  it  was  further 

Resolved,  That  the  Documents  presented  on  this  occasion  be  com- 
mended  to  the  special  consideration  of  pastors  and  of  all  who  have 

9 


r 


166  DELIBERATIVE    MEETING. 

influence  on  the  public  mind  and  the  training  of  the  young ;  and  that 
the  solemnity  and  weight  of  the  pulpit  be  especially  solicited  in  behalf 
of  the  principles  maintained. 

A  deep  and  solemn  impression  of  the  presence  of  God 
and  the  responsibilities  he  has  devolved  upon  the  churches 
evidently  pervaded  the  Meeting,  which  was  throughout 
one  of  entire  harmony,  and  was  closed  by  singing  the 
Doxology,and  the  Benediction  pronounced  by  Dr.  Milnor. 

Who,  in  reviewing  these  exercises,  can  fail  to  be  affected 
at  the  exhibition  of  christian  confidence  uniting  members  of 
so  many  denominations  in  one  grand  design  for  evangel- 
izing a  benighted  world  ;  or  at  the  evidence  that  true  re- 
ligion is  one  and  the  same,  though  associated  with  various 
external  distinctions  ?  Who  can  but  notice  the  providen- 
tial dispensations  that  have  called  the  Society  to  so  many 
departments  of  labor  at  home  and  abroad,  or  fail  to  see 
both  in  the  v/ritten  word  and  in  the  labors  of  christians 
generalljr,  divinely  appointed  aids  to  the  ministry  ? 

Who  does  not  both  rejoice  and  tremble  in  view  of  the 
power  of  the  Press  for  good  and  for  evil,  as  here  exhibited  ; 
and  who  will  not  bless  God  for  the  sound  Evangelical 
character  of  the  Society's  one  thousand  publications,  and 
one  hundred  volumes,  and  their  adaptation  to  aid  the  Pas- 
tor in  his  work,  to  strengthen  the  christian,  alarm  the  un- 
converted, and  promote  the  revival  of  the  work  of  God  1 

Who  will  not  see  in  the  summoning  of  christian  co- 
operation, and  the  raising  up  and  sending  forth  of  Colpor- 
teurs to  visit  those  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ministry,  a 
great  duty  devolving  on  the  followers  of  Christ  generally, 
and  a  means  graciously  provided,  whereby  the  millions 
dispersed  throughout  the  desolations  of  our  own  and  other 
lands,  may  receive  the  message  of  salvation  ?  Whose 
compassion  will  not  be  awakened  for  the  million  of  Ger- 
man emigrants  on  our  own  shores,  and  for  deluded  and 
neglected  Errorists  of  every  name? 

Who  will  not  extend  his  vision  to  the  millions  struggling 


CONCLUDING  KEMARKS.  167 

with  persecution  and  oppression  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  and  the  hundreds  of  millions  in  pagan  lands;  and 
join  in  the  endeavor  to  extend  these  various  means  of 
grace  to  all,  as  far  as  our  noblest  efforts  can  reach? 

Who  will  not  lament  the  limited  pecuniary  means  of 
the  Society  for  supplying  the  destitute  with  publications, 
or  supporting  the  Colporteurs  whom  God  is  raising  up, 
and  keeping  the  presses  at  foreign  mission  stations  in 
motion;  and  who  will  not  practice  some  self-denial  both 
in  contributions  and  in  efforts,  that  this  work,  and  the 
cause  of  benevolence  generally,  may  be  carried  forward 
without  halting? 

If  some  of  the  suggestions  in   the  above  valuable  let- 
ters sent  to  the  Board  were  carried  out,  the  desired  ends 
might  be  gained:  especially  the  suggestions,  (1)  that  every 
congregation  do   something  ivilhout  delay,  and  continue 
its  contributions  annually  ;  and  (2)  that  every  individual, 
not  excluding  children,  be  induced  annually  io  subscribe  a 
sum  on  paper  which  is  willingly  consecrated  to  this  object. 
This   whole  work,  if  what  it  professes  to  be,  is  the 
Lord's.     The  united  prayer  of  those  who  love  Zion  he 
will  answer;    and  their  devoted  efforts  he  will  make  suc- 
cessful.    Yielding  to  indolence  and  the  spirit  of  the  world 
no  promise  is  with  us ;  but  acting  for  Him,  and  in  view 
of  a  hastening  eternity,  it  shall   finally  appear  that   His 
grace  abounded  in  blessing  our  endeavo  rs. 


PLEA 


FOR   THE 


EVANGELICAL  PRESS: 

A    DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED  IN  THE  BROADWAY  TABERNACLE,  N.  YORK, 

EEFCRE  THE  EOARD  AKD  Fr.IE>:CS  OF  THE 

AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY, 

AT  niE 

OPENING    OF    THEIR    PUBLIC    DELIBERATIVE    MEETING, 

October  25,  1842. 


BY    JAMES    ROMEYN, 

LATE    PASTOR    CF    THE   REFORMED   DUTCH    CHURCH,    CATSKILL. 


PUBLISHED    BY    REQUEST    OF    THE    EOARD. 


PRINTED   FOR   THE   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  N.  YORK. 

1843. 


At  the  Public  Meeting  of  the  Board,  October  26,  on 
motion  of  the  Rev.  Baron  Stow,  of  Boston,  it  was 
unanimously 

^^ Resolved^  That  the  thanks  of  the  meeting-  be  present- 
ed to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Eometn  for  the  able  and  appropriate 
Sermon  preached  by  him  the  last  evening,  and  that  a 
copy  be  requested  for  the  press." 

Extract  from  the  Minutes 


D.  Faiisli;iw,  I'liiuer,  150  Nas^au-street. 


A   DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED    O    THE 

BROADWAY   TABERNACLE, 

*' Having  therefore  ohtained  help  cf  God,  I  continue  unto  this 
d'ty^  loitnessing  both  to  small  and  great,  saying  none  other 
things  than  those  ichich  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say 
should  co7ne :  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  that  he  should 
he  the  first  that  should  rise  from  the  dead,  and  should  slow 
light  unto  the  people,  and  to  the  Gentiles.''— Aci^^,  26  :  22,  23. 

These  are  the  words  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, lender  trying  circumstances.  Scarcely  had  he 
entered  the  school  of  Christ  before  he  encountered  sus* 
picion  and  distrust  from  professed  brethren,  and  perse- 
cution and  bonds  from  enemies.  He  was  now  in  n^ore 
imminent  danger  from  his  O'.vn  countrymen,  who  ''had 
crucified  the  Lord  Jesus,"  than  from  the  heathen  them- 
selves ;  and  he  vras  compelled,  in  order  to  escape  cer- 
tain condemnation  at  Jerusalem,  to  appeal  to  Caesar  at 
Rome.  He  was  now  arraigned  before  the  bar  of  a  judge, 
who  suifered  an  appeal,  involving  delay  and  suffering, 
to  be  taken;  and  who  rendered  it  a  necessary  alterna- 
tive by  his  own  act,  because  he  refused  to  release  the 
prisoner  when  the  power  of  decision  was  his  own, 
though  he  confessed  himself  persuaded  that  he  had 
done  nothing  worthy  of  condemnation — who  knew  no 
more  of  religion  than  to  confound  the  claims  of  ''  the 
Son  of  God  with  pov%'er  by  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead,"  with  '^  certain  questions  of  Jewish  supersti- 
tions f  and  who  had  studied  no  farther  into  the  great 


4  FLEA    FOR    THE 

principles  of  justice  than  to  have  caught  a  glimnierin'T 
of  the  conclusion,  that  it  seemed  unreasonable  to  send 
a  man  away  a  prisoner  without  signifying  also  the 
charge  alleged  against  him. 

There  he  stands,  an  apostle,  a  chosen  vessel,  in  soul 
''  free  indeed,"  a  man  of  mighty  mind,  of  kindled  afTec- 
lions,  of  indomitable  energy,  before  such  a  tribunal ! 
and  '^  for  the  hope  of  Israel  bound  with  a  chain  !" 

But  though  bonds  and  afHictions  awaited  him,  how 
did  he  demean  himself  1  Did  grief  dim  to  his  ej-e  the 
brightness  of  the  crown  of  glory  1  Did  he  stand  back 
from  the  bold  avowal  or  dangerous  service  of  a  Savior 
whose  name  was  ''  every  where  spoken  against  V  Did 
his  heart  fail,  or  his  cheek  blanch,  because  he  became 
from  the  hour  of  his  conversion  a  "  man  of  strife  V  To 
obtain  an  answer  to  these  inquiries,  analyze  his  de- 
fence. He  stirs  up  his  soul  to  uncompromising  faith- 
fulness by  recalling  the  affecting  scene  of  his  conver- 
sion to  God — he  yei  sees  the  light,  he  yei  hears  the 
voice,  '^  Why  persecutest  thou  me  1"  and  he  strength- 
ens the  steadfastness  of  his  purpose  by  repeating  his 
own  inquiry,  made  in  the  honest  hour  of  alarm,  submis- 
sion and  first  love,  '^  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
dol"  His  high  commission,  as  it  came  from  the  lips 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  who  thus  appeared  to  him  in 
the  way,  is  distinctly  recollected  and  recited.  He  re- 
views his  labors  and  the  way  the  Lord  had  brought 
him,  and  feels  a  reviving  influence  from  the  deepened 
conviction,  that  he  continued  unto  that  day  because  he 
had  '^  obtained  help  from  God."  His  impressive  elo- 
quence attained  its  highest  power  when  he  adverted  to 
his  glorious  theme  and  ivork,  witnessing  to  both  small 
and  great  the  grand  and  central  subject  of  revelation, 
'^  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  should  rise  from  the 
dead,  and  should  show  light  to  the  people  and  to  the 
Gentiles." 


EVANGELICAL   TRESS.  D 

The  occasion  and  object  of  our  present  convocation 
are  well  understood.  Our  relations,  duties,  resources 
and  hopes  are  the  same  as  the  apostle's  were ;  and, 
perhaps,  after  setting  forth  Paul,  and  calling  upon  you 
''  to  follow  them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit 
the  promises,"  I  ought  here  to  pause.  Were  I  to  obey 
my  sense  of  inadequacy  to  the  subject  in  hand  I  would 
'^Silver  of  eloquence,"  and  gold  of  truth  refined  and 
curiously  wrought,  I  have  none.  Fragmentary  outlines 
and  dim  images  are  all  that  present  themselves  to  a 
wearied  mind  at  a  necessarily  hasty  glance.  "  Such  as 
I  have,  give  I  unto  you."  And  since  the  privilege  of 
silence  is  denied  me,  I  desire  to  hide  myself  behind  my 
subject.  I  am  but  '^  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wil- 
derness, Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord ;"  and  I  shall 
be  content,  with  John,  to  decrease,  if  Christ  may  in- 
crease ',  and  like  "  a  voice,"  to  die  away  and  be  lost  to 
your  farther  notice,  if  I  may  only  reach  your  ear,  and 
wake  your  heart,  and  set  in  motion  and  rouse  to  ap- 
propriate action  this  important  detachment  of  God's 
sacramental  host. 

Our  text  presents  two  points  for  consideration : 

I.  An  occasion  awakening  sympathy  and  calling  for 
benevolent  action. 

II.  The  MEANS  AND  MANNER  OF  MEETING  ITS  RESPON- 
SIBILITIES. 

I.  An  OCCASION.    In  the  case  of  both  the  apostle  and 
ourselves,  there  is  presented  before  us  the  spiritual  des- 
titution of  a  fallen  race;  a  state  of  investment  by  evil 
influences;  and  without  relief  exposure  to  eternal  per 
ditio?i. 

1.  On  the  general  subject.  The  theology  of  a  nation 
gives  character  to  their  principles  of  action,  their  wor- 
ship, and  their  hopes.    After   the   perfections   of  the 


PLEA   FOR    THE 


Godhead  are  ascertained,  the  question  next  in  order  and 
importance,  is,  what  is  the  actual  condition  of  those 
who  are  his  creatures  and  subjects  1  what  their  relation 
to  his  law,  its  rewards  or  penalties,  and  their  prospects  % 
This  broad  principle  has  been  as  generally  overlooked 
as  it  is  obviously  true.  It  is  for  want  of  attention  to  it 
that  the  unsanctified  sinner  hears  w^ith  indifference  the 
warning  to  fleej  and  the  professed  believer,  though 
''his  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  Glory,  and 
though  he  dwell  among  a  people  of  unclean  lips,"  feels 
not  half  his  obligations. 

,  This  is  a  lost  world.  Unless  this  be  so,  the  Bible  is  a 
riddle  ;  the  errand  of  Christ  superfluous ;  the  scenes  of 
Calvary  a  pageant ;  and  the  phrases  "  marvellous  light," 
"  unsearchable  riches,"  "  great  salvation,"  "  depth  of 
the  riches  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God,"  mere 
oratorical  hyperbole.  In  order  to  understand  the  Bible, 
to  judge  of  its  character,  to  appreciate  the  wisdom  of 
its  adaptations  and  the  riches  of  its  grace  ;  to  enter 
into  its  spirit  and  carry  out  intelligently  its  designs,  we 
must  place  ourselves  where  He  stood  who  looked  upon 
our  race  in  their  hopelessness  when  he  made  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Gospel.  If  you  show  me  the  picture  of  a 
landscape,  I  shall  differ  from  the  artist  and  pronounce 
his  work  a  failure,  unless  I  plant  myself  precisely  where 
he  did  when  he  executed  the  work.  The  relations  and 
bearings  of  the  different  objects  it  presents  will  other- 
wise be  greatly  changed,  if  not  entirely  reversed,  and 
its  character  of  beauty,  and  wisdom  of  design,  fail  to  be 
discovered.  Let  us  apply  the  illustration. 

When  God  looked  down  from  heaven  upon  the  chil- 
dren of  men,  to  see  if  there  w^ere  any  that  did  under- 
stand and  seek  God,  they  had  all  gone  aside,  they  were 
altogether  become  filthy,  there  was  none  that  did  good, 
no,  not  one.  The  thoughts  and  imaginations  of  their 
hearts  were  evil,  only  evil,  and  that  continually;  "they 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  7 

hated  the  light,  and  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledo-e." 

There  is  in  the  heart  of  man  a  specific  repuhion 
against  the  claims  of  God  as  such.  No  chemical  test  is 
surer  of  detecting  a  latent  ingredient  or  property,  than 
the  religion  of  Christ  the  '^enmity  of  the  carnal  mind" 
when  it  would  control  by  its  authority  or  woo  by  its 
love.  Like  the  spear  of  Ithuriel,  its  touch  disrobes  of 
dissfuise  and  reveals  the  true  character  of  what  is  hidden 
under  it.  There  is  a  hand  for  a  friend,  and  a  heart 
for  kindred,  and  love  of  country,  and  provision  for  our 
own  ;  exposure  of  life  at  the  very  cannon's  mouth, 
and  millions  of  treasure  for  defence  ;  efforts  on  the 
part  of  statesmen  to  bless  the  land  with  plenty  and 
peace,  and  a  compensating  return  if  they  may  but 
''read  their  history  in  a  nation's  eyes  " — but  when  we 
claim  these  same  affections  and  efforts  for  God,  they 
are  at  once  arrested  in  their  exercise  and  refused.  The 
natural  perfections  of  God,  men  will  admire  and  speak 
of;  but  from  the  very  contemplation  of  his  moral  per- 
fections and  government  they  shrink  ;  and  in  the  spirit 
of  him  who  drew  down  a  third  part  of  the  stars  of 
heaven  after  him,  they  say, 

"  O  ihou,  who,  with  surpassing  glory  crowned, 
"  Look'st  from  thy  sole  dominion — to  thee  I  call, 
"  But  with  no  friendly  voice,  and  add  thy  name, 
"  To  tell  thee  how  I  hate  thy  beams." 

Your  ov\'n  Wilberforce  (for  you  have  his  invaluable 
Practical  View  among  your  publications)  has  demon- 
strated this,  and  shown  inadequate  conceptions  on  this 
point  to  lie  at  the  root  of  shallow  conviction,  and  worth- 
less, heartless  profession.  The  Savior  declared  to  an 
objecting  Pharisee :  '^  To  wdiom  little  is  forgiven,  the 
same  loveth  little." 

There  is  originality  and  point  in  the  declaration,  that 


8  PLEA   FOR    THE 

the  ''  very  arts  and  sciences  would  require  divine  pow- 
er to  teach  them  effectually,  if  they  involved  as  much 
holiness  and  devotion  as  the  Gospel.  Yes,  did  mathema- 
tics demonstrate  the  evil  of  sin  and  necessity  of  holi- 
ness jast  as  the  cross  of  Christ  does,  problems  would 
soon  be  as  unpopular  as  the  doctrines  of  the  cross. 
Were  there  no  progress  made  in  astronomy,  without  as 
Tn'ich.  prayer'  as  watching^  there  would  be  but  few  astro- 
nomical students.  If  geology  and  botany  required,  as 
Mount  Zion  does,  '  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart '  from 
all  who  ascended  their  hills,  neither  the  strata  nor  the 
fiOwers  of  the  earth  would  have  many  visitants.  And 
if  music  could  never  be  well  played  but  when  there  was 
'  melody  in  the  heart  unto  the  Lord,'  or  when  worship 
was  its  only  object,  music,  with  all  its  charms,  would 
have  but  few  votaries.  Even  place  and  power  in  the 
state  w^ould  not  be  the  objects  of  general  ambition  if 
they  could  only  be  obtained  by  spirituality  of  mind,  and 
only  retained  by  consecration  to  the  glory  of  God. 
In  a  word,  were  the  practical  and  devotional  requisi- 
tions of  the  Gospel  transferred  from  the  Gospel  to  any 
trade  or  science,  there  would  be  just  as  much  aversion 
to  that  trade  or  science  as  there  now  is  to  the  Gospel  j 
and  as  much  necessity  for  divine  influence  to  enforce 
their  claims."  These  illustrations  are  novel,  and  may 
be  deemed  bold,  but  they  are  incontrovertible. 

Terrible  charge  !  a  race  without  God — our  species 
up  in  arms !  Amid  blessings  unwon.  Amid  terrors 
unalarmed.  If  the  great  master  of  the  English  drama 
Stirs  up  emotion  by  the  exhibition  of  fallen  royalty,  and 
none  crying  as  it  passed,  "God  save ;"  what  amaze- 
ment, horror,  zeal,  become  us  at  the  sight  of  Deity  in- 
carnate coming  to  save,  and  met,  not  by  mere  cold  in- 
difference, but  resolute  repulse — the  sura  of  his  history 
this  :  '*  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received 
him  not." 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS. 


'*  Fools  make  a  mock  at  sin."  He  who  adopts  God's 
estimate  of  it  will  not  hesitate  on  the  great  questions 
which  are  all  in  apposition  with  it,  the  necessity  of 
atoning  blood  and  renewing  grace.  The  Gospel,  the 
Gospel  alone,  lifts  iii  our  view  the  pall  from  a  dead 
world  ;  and  he  to  whom  Christ  has  given  light  resem- 
bles, in  the  affecting  and  inciting  character  of  his  situa- 
tion, the  man  v.dio  should  awake  to  consciousness  under 
ground,  coffined  and  shrouded,  and  who  should  be  able 
to  look,  under  a  sense  of  his  indebtedness  to  distin- 
guishing mercy,  upon  the  wide  extended  empire  of  de- 
solation around  him,  where  God  is  not  named,  nor  prais- 
ed,  nor  celebrated;  where  corruption  alone,  in  various 
degrees  and  forms,  exhibits  motion  ;  where  all  life  is 
dead,  and  "death"  only  ''lives."  You  will  pardon  me 
for  dwelling  so  long  on  this  point.  I  am  laying  a  corner- 
stone, and  adjusting  to  its  place  a  pivot  on  which  the 
mighty  scheme  of  Redemption  and  all  its  agencies  turn. 

2.  These  are  the  views  which  may  be  said  to  consti- 
tute a  distinct  and  large  class  of  the  doctrines  the  aposih 
puts  forth^  and  which  governed  him  in  his  preaching  and 
action.  If  he  does  not  teach  the  hopeless  and  entire 
alienation  of  man  from  God,  by  nature,  then  words  have 
no  meaning,  and  are  good  for  nothing  but  to  conceal 
our  sentiments  and  produce  false  impressions  of  the 
subjects  on  which  we  employ  them.  Instead  of  claim- 
ing, under  the  overweening  influence  of  Jewish  arro- 
gance, that  they  v.^ere  ''  better  than  the  Gentiles,"  he 
disclaims  the  sentiment,  and  labors  to  prove  from  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  in  whom  they  trusted,  that  there  was 
no  difference,  that  all  were  ''justified  freely  by  grace." 
He  "  concludes  all  under  sin,  that  the  promise  by  faith 
of  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that  believe."  He 
declares  that  "by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there  can  no 
fiesh  living  be  justified  ;"  and  proposes,  as  the  exclusive 
and  sufficient  refuge,  Christ  as  a  "propitiation  for  sin, 


10  '  ?LEA   FOR    THE 

through  faith  in  his  blood."  Read  his  dark  and  appal- 
ling indictment  of  our  nature  in  Romans  1.  He  tells 
the  Corinthians  that  he  '^  determined  to  know  nothing; 
amono-  them  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  He 
congratulates  the  Ephesians,  ''You 'hath  he  quickened 
who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  He  assures 
the  Galatians  that  "  Christ  was  of  none  effect"  to  any 
who  were  of  the  works  of  the  law ;  and  stirs  up  the 
gratitude  of  the  Colossians  by  reminding  them,  ''  You 
being  dead  in  your  sins,  and  the  uncircumcision  of  the 
flesh,  hath  he  quickened  together  with  him,  having  for- 
given you  all  trespasses,  blotting  out  the  handwriting 
that  was  against  them,  and  nailing  it  to  the  cross."  His 
testimony  every  where  is,  man  is  dead  in  sin.  Christ  is 
''  our  life."     ''  Christ  in  tis,  the  hope  of  glory ." 

We  have  a  most  striking  display  of  the  boldness  and 
zeal,  the  love  and  pity  it  inspired,  in  Acts  17.  He  comes 
to  Athens,  the  "  Eye  of  Greece  "  and  self-esteemed  light 
of  the  world.  A  man  of  diminutive  stature,  plain  garb, 
unpretending  appearance,  a  seeming  outcast  and  unat' 
tended  Jew,  might  be  seen  upon  the  heights,  Avhere  he 
stands  gazing,  now  upon  the  cultivated  fields  and  gar- 
dens around,  now  upon  the  bright  sky  and  blue  heavens 
overhead,  and  now  forth  upon  the  broad  jEgean  sea, 
dotted  with  its  beautiful  islands,  its  rippled  waters  sport- 
ing with  the  sun-beams,  or  reflecting  like  a  mirror  the 
smiles  and  beauty  of  the  Lord.  As  he  walks  the  streets, 
he  is  seen  lifting  his  sight  to  the  top  of  the  monumental 
column,  and  directing  it  along  the  massive  and  rich 
colonnade,  he  looks  into  the  doors  of  their  temples,  and 
seems  to  scan  intently  every  scene  and  object.  He 
lingers  also  around  the  places  where  philosophy  gave 
instruction  on  wisdom,  and  is  seen  on  the  outer  verofe 
of  admiring  groups,  and  while  he  listens  displays  impa- 
tient disapprobation.  Though  in  the  nation  where  So- 
crates v/as  condemned  to  die  for  his  opinions,  he  may 


EVANGELICAL    PHESS.  H 

be  found  in  the  market-place  disputing  with  the  Gentile, 
and  in  the  synagogue  with  the  resident  Jew  ;  and  both 
quail  before  the  power  and  are  startled  by  the  character 
of  his  words. 

Why  did  he  speak  ihus^  and  whence  this  daring  course 
of  action  ?  That  sea,  those  hills,  that  sun  had  failed  to 
lead  to  a  discovery  of  Eternal  power  and  a  Godhead, 
Those  temples  had  altars  inscribed  to  the  u?ik?iown  God, 
and  were  the  resort  of  worshippers  whose  hearts  were 
as  cold  as  the  marble  of  which  they  were  constructed. 
Athens  was  the  home  of  thirty  thousand  deities.  The 
intellect  that  reared  those  splendid  structures  and  the 
zeal  that  maintained  their  services  were  all  unsanctified. 
The  men  he  met  were  living  corpses,  dead  while  they 
lived.  There  was  there  no  God,  no  Savior,  no  hope. 
"  'Twas  Greece,  but  living  Greece  no  more,"  and  jus- 
tified in  a  spiritual  and  religious  view  the  poet's  im- 
passioned comparison  of  her  modern  with  her  ancient 
state,  when  he  likened  the  former  to  a  beautiful  corpse, 
whose  material,  symmetrical  organization  remained, 
while  the  beauty  and  charm  of  ^Mife  "  had  fied,  and 
which  was  just  in  the  stage 

"  Before  Decay's  efHicing  fingers 

"  Had  swept  the  lines  where  beauty  lingers." 

Arts,  arms,  science,  philosophy,  government,  every  thing 
barely  intellectual  flourished  at  Athens.  But  it  was, 
though  the  proudest  production  of  human  eflx)rt,  to  a 
spiritual  eye  nothing  but  an  affecting,  self-reared  monu- 
ment, unconsciously,  undesignedly  testifying  that  ''  the 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God." 

And  when  the  "philosophers"  encountered  him  as 
they  came  to  the  rescue  of  their  several  schemes,  and 
after  they  had  tumultuously  hurried  him  along  to  Mars- 
Hill,  amid  the  conjectures  of  some  and  the  jeers  of  others 
at  the  ''  babbler,"  he  rebuked,  he  reasoned,  he  thunder- 


12  PLEA   FOR    THE 

eel,  he  commanded  repentance  in  the  name  of  the  God 
he  declared  to  them.  He  pointed  to  the  judgment,  and 
showed  them  the  Crucified  coming  in  the  glory  of  the 
Father  with  his  holy  angels,  '^  no  more  to  bleed,  no  more 
to  die  j"  and  displayed  a  ''  spirit  stirred  "  by  Gospel 
pity,  zeal  and  hope.  He  held  the  light  of  truth  over 
their  idols,  and  exposed  their  nothingness. 

It  requires  but  little  effort  of  imagination  to  conceive 
how  contemptible  even  to  the  eye  of  reason,  in  the  light 
from  heaven  which  streamed  in  upon  those  dark  temples 
of  idolatry  during  the  apostle's  speech,  those  senseless 
im^ages  appeared,  compared  with  the  ''  living  throne, 
the  sapphire  blaze  "  which  he  unveiled  before  their  as- 
tonished minds ;  and  that  he  did,  in  effect^  by  the  word 
of  truth,  what  Josiah  did  literally  at  the  time  of  his 
reformation,  when  he  ground  the  idols  of  the  land  to 
powder,  and  scattered  their  dust,  broad-cast,  in  contempt 
and  indignation  upon  the  persons  of  their  living  dupes, 
and  the  graves  of  their  departed  worshippers.  2  Kings, 
23 ;  2  Chron.  34.  He  assailed  their  pride  ;  he  braved 
their  power  ;  he  defied  their  divinities  ;  and  the  impli- 
cation runnin.g  through  all  he  said  and  did  was  this : 
their  enmity  to  God  and  their  danger  in  view  of  ''  the 
day  of  the  perdition  of  ungodly  men.''''  On  the  pre- 
sent occasion  he  says,  rehearsing  his  commission :  "  I 
have  appeared  to  thee  for  this  purpose,  to  make  thee  a 
minister  and  a  witness  both  of  those  things  which  thou 
hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  in  the  which  I  will  appear 
unto  thee  ;  delivering  thee  from  the  people  and  from 
the  Gentiles,  to  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God, 
that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  an  inhe- 
ritance among  them  which  are  sanctified  by  faith  that  is 
in  me." 

3.  The  same  occasion  yd  remains.  Corruption  will 
never  heal  itself  5  nor  have  its  heavings  and  fcrmenta- 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  13 

tions,  like  chaos  when  the  Spirit  brooded  upon  it,  an 
inward  tendency  to,  or  a  certain  issue  in  a  finished  work 
and  a  fair  creation.  We  are  called  upon  to  maintain  the 
same  agency  the  apostle  left  when  he  v.'as  summoned 
to  his  rest,  and  to  enter  into  the  same  labors.  This  is 
still  what  it  was,  and  what  it  will  remain  till  He  that 
sits  upon  the  throne  shall  make  ail  things  new,  a  world 
Iyi7ig  in  loickediiess. 

In  surveying  the  field  of  labor,  the  distinction  made 
by  the  apostle  still  exists  :  light  and  healing  are  needed 
by  ^^  the  people,  and  by  Ihe  Ge7ililes.^^ 

As  to  the  Gentiles,  we  read,  ^'  where  there  is  no  vision 
the  people  perish."  '^  As  many  as  have  sinned  without 
law  shall  also  perish  without  law ;"  and  the  same  apos- 
tle who  declares  that  ''  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God,"  significantly  in  another  place  asks,  ^'how 
shall  they  believe  on  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  1" 
It  requires  only  a  knowledge  of  their  character  to  per- 
ceive at  once  the  utter  incc^ngruity  of  supposing  that 
they  can  in  their  debased  condition  enter  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Notwithstanding  all  that  infidels  have  said  in 
praise  of  the  "  simple  virtues "  of  the  heathen,  they 
would  be  loth  indeed  to  exchange  the  security  and  ele- 
vation of  Christendom  for  all  the  "  loveliness  "  of  pa^an 
society.  What  say  your  Missionaries  are  the  grand  fea- 
tures of  their  condition  as  they  strike  the  mind,  even  on  a 
first  view  1  Henry  Martyn  said  that  the  associations  in 
his  mind,  on  beholding  the  celebration  of  their  rites, 
were  with  the  "  vestibule  of  hell."  The  recent  rapid  and 
vivid  description  before  the  Foreign  Missionary  Board 
by  a  brother  (Rev.  Dr.  Scudder)  lately  returned  after 
twenty-two  years'  residence  and  labors  among  the 
heathen,  makes  the  ears  to  tingle  and  the  heart  grow 
sick.  He  must  have  a  stout  heart  who  can  remain  un- 
affected in  perusing  the  Tract  entitled  the  ^^  Horrors  of 
Heathenism  "  as  it  groups  its  evils  and  lets  fall  in  pass- 
fug  a  ray  upon  each. 


14-  PLEA    FOR    THE 

As  to  the  other  class  ^'  the  people^''''  who  need  to  h:.;ve 
light  shown  them  in  contradistinction  to  the  Gentiles — 
the  half  civilized,  half  christianized  parts  of  the  world, 
together  with  the  masses  who,  though  under  the  full 
blaze  of  the  Gospel,  are  living  without  God — their  con- 
dition is  not  less  deplorable,  while  it  is  more  guilty; 
and  appeals  with  peculiar  power  to  our  christian  sensi- 
bilities. Of  every  man  born  of  w'oman  it  is  true  that  ex- 
cept he  be  born  again  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God — that  except  he  repent  he  must  perish. 

Now  in  both  of  these  cases  there  is  no  difiiculty  in 
discovering  general  reasons  why  men  thus  depraved 
cleave  to  their  idolatries,  and  why  the  Gospel,  when  it 
comes,  should  be  treated  as  an  intruder  on  their  joys. 
We  may  name  the  moulding  influence  of  education, 
pride  of  opinion,  a  natural  jealousy  of  innovation,  toge- 
ther with  objections  to  its  inconvenience — self-interest, 
inasmuch  as  many  "have  their  living  by  this  craft" — a 
fear  of  ridicule,  or  of  loss  of  caste — the  control  of  the 
passions — while  the  torpor  of  ignorance  constitutes  so 
much  dead  weight  that  must  be  lifted  out  of  the  way. 
These  are  the  tyrants  who  parcel  out  the  soul  and  body 
of  man  amono-  themselves,  when  he  ceases  to  be  free 
indeed. 

But  there  is  one  great  influence  wdiich  fortifies  all  the 
rest;  puts  a  spell  upon  the  soul;  precludes  inquiry, 
and  denies  Truth  a  hearing,  and  thus  keeps  the  goods 
in  peace.  I  mean  a  false  and  corrupt  Theology  and  Li- 
terature. Satan  beguiled  Eve — duped  her  understand- 
ing— before  he  destroyed  her  by  a  lie.  Heathenism  has 
its  wise  men,  writers,  apologists,  oracles,  books,  reve- 
lations, defences,  and  miracles. 

It  was  the  remark  of  the  late  Dr.  Mason,  that  the  dis- 
position of  Satan  makes  him  a  devil:  in  intellect  he  is 
an  angel  ;  that  he  never  enlists  fools,  as  such,  in  his 
service  ;  and   that   those   who   are  thus  employed  are 


I 


EVAXGELICAL    PRESS.  15 

most  assuredly  volunteers.  Intellect !  Some  of  the 
mightiest  minds  that  ever  existed  among  our  fallen 
race  have  been  under  the  sway  of  infidelity.  The  ver- 
iest wretches  that  ever  lived  will  not  avow  the  folly  of 
acting  without  a  reason,  even  though  it  be  so  weak  a 
one  that  a  child  might  explode  it.  In  the  controversy 
of  Martyn  with  the  Mahometan  doctors,  who  is  not  re- 
minded of  the  struggle  of  ancient  wrestlers,  or  the 
clash,  and  sparks,  and  intentness  of  swordsmen  in 
deadly  conflict  1  The  web  of  sophistry  need  not  be  very 
strong  to  entangle,  and  at  last  enwrap  and  tie  dov/n  the 
powers  of  the  ordinary  mind.  Amid  the  errors  of  our 
day  we  have  employ  for  the  whole  armor  of  light. 
Men  who  cannot  repeat  the  Lord's  prayer,  nor  the  ten 
commandments,  nor  the  creed,  are  familiar  with  Pope's 
sentiment,  ''  He  can't  be  wrong,  whose  life  is  in  the 
rights"  and  this  false  maxim,  and  others  like  it,  ''hav- 
ing a  show  of  wisdom,"  constitute  their  vade  mecurn. 

The  very  physical  sciences  among  the  heathen  were 
concealed  from  the  common  people,  that  they  might  be 
turned  to  the  account  of  a  designing  priesthood.  And 
a  late  writer  on  hydraulics  has  exposed,  in  the  construc- 
tion of  heathen  altars  the  secret  yet  simple  machinery 
by  which  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  fluids,  and  of  the 
action  of  steam  were  employed  to  produce  their  "  ly- 
ing wonders."  Here  then  is  a  weapon  w^e  must  wrest 
from  the  hands  of  enemies  and  turn  aofainst  them,  or 
they  will  employ  it  to  destroy  us.  We  must  make  our 
selection,  we  must  use  it,  or  fall  by  it. 

It  is  undeniable  that,  among  the  masses,  error  and 
vice  are  on  a  crusade  for  the  purpose  of  subjugation. 
Robert  Hall  remarked  forty  years  ago,  that  one  of  the 
alarming  symptoms  of  the  "times"  was,  that  infidelity 
was  seeking  difl'usion  among  the  common  people,  and 
had  grown  condescending  ;  and  that,  instead  of  being 
employed  as  the  instrument  of  mere  literary  vanity,  it 


16  FLEA    FOR    THE 

had  been  adopted  as  the  organ  of  political  convulsion. 
To  this  we  may  now  add,  as  a  means  of  personal  promo- 
tion, and,  what  is  more  debasing  still,  of  sheer  pecu- 
niary interest. 

The  multipUcatioji  of  cheap  piihlications  is  a  feature 
of  the  day  as  distinct  a.nd  nov^el,  as  that  steam  is  the 
means  of  motion,  and  po^vder  of  ^varfare.  V/e  have 
Universalist,  Deistical,  Roman  Catholic  ^'book  con- 
cerns." We  have  newspapers,  pamphlets,  magazines, 
handbills,  tracts,  for  every  class  of  sentiments,  ''  clean 
and  unclean."  On  the  Sabbath,  and  during  the  week, 
the  influence  continually  rolls  on  like  water  from  a  lake 
into  the  sea,  and  is  distributed,  as  blood  from  the  heart 
through  the  frame,  by  systematic,  regular  pulsation,  at 
the  almost  hourly  departure  of  conveyances  for  the  in- 
terior. To  stimulate  the  exhausted,  and  aid  the  unlet- 
tered, and  retain  its  hold  over  the  hurried,  the  licen- 
tious print  is  hung  forth,  and  obtrudes  itself  from  the 
retired  yet  promiscuously  frequented  barber-shop  of  the 
steamboat  and  the  keeping-room  of  the  hotel,  to  the 
show-windows  of  Broadway.  The  half-naked  or  dimly 
veiled  human  form  may  be  seen  depicted  in  splendid 
volumes,  adorning  the  centre-tables  of  fashion,  and  in 
the  hands  of  the  j'oung,  wnose  fears  for  the  safety  of 
their  principles  or  morals  are  suspended  amid  a  trance 
of  admiration  at  the  skill  of  the  execution ;  and  \vho, 
while  they  contemplate  the  palpable,  are  not  aware  of 
what  passion  may  soon  clamor  for  importunately,  or 
roving,  gloating  imagination  supply. 

I  have  said  that  man  is  alienated  from  God,  and  have 
show^n  you  one  class  of  dangerous  influences  that  m- 
vest  him.  We  are  now^  prepared  to  trace  this  injiu- 
ence  i?i  its  processes  and  forms  in  sealing  his  ruin. 

First  comes  the  mighty  power  of  a  defective  domestic 
education.  If  the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound,  who 
will  gird  himself  for  the  battle  %    Parents,  the  natural 


EVAXGELICAL    PRESS.  17 

and  sworn  guardmns  of  their  children,  are  either  off 
their  guard,  or  positive  corrupters.  There  is  a  denial 
of  native  depravity,  or  an  undervaluation  of  its  ''  despe- 
rate "  character;  and  there  is  resistance  even  to  the 
theory  of  duty  as  it  respects  picking  off  the  buds  and 
germs  of  the  apples  of  Sodom  and  clusters  of  Gomor- 
rah, and  beating  down  to  the  ground  and  suppressincr 
the  growth  of  the  thorn  and  thistle.  ° 

Until  the  recent  efforts  made  to  furnish  it,  there  has 
been  a  lamentable  want,  nay,  almost  a  dearth  of  what 
might  be  deemed  suitable  and  adapted  reading  for  the 
young;  while  of  works  designed  for  mature  m'inds,  co- 
pies were  scarce  and  dear,  and  no  direct  effort  'was 
made  to  give  them  circulation.  Till  we  sit  down  to  the 
calculation,  we  can  form  but  a  miserable,  inadequate 
estmiate  of  what  is  implied  both  on  the  score  of  method 
and  responsibility  in  training  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go  I  and  if  the  light  that  is  in  us  be  darkness, 
the  effect  cannot  but  be  disastrous. 

^  JS^ext,  a  youth,  thus  ill  freighted  and  ballasted,  leaves 
his  home,  and  commences  the  acquisition  of  a   liberal 
education.    The  first  opening  of  his  eyes  is  amid  the  pro- 
ductions of  pagan  minds  and  hearts.    His  literary  tastes, 
so  far  as  the  forms  and  drapery  of  thought  are  concerned' 
are  formed  after  models  highly  and  exquisitely  wroudit  • 
but  his  sentiments,  his  moral  tastes,  are  correspondingly 
perverted  and  vitiated.    His  views  of  the  Deity  are  de- 
based, and  his  feelings  familiarized  with  lust  and  abo- 
mmation  under  another   name.     Let  me   present   you 
with  the  testimony  of  St.  Augustine,  in  his  confessions 
on  this  subject.    A  more   competent  witness,  a  more 
affecting  and  striking  illustration  cannot  be  found. 

''What  miseries,  Lord,  did  I  experience  when  I  was 
directed  in  the  plan  of  my  education  to  acquire  the 
knowledge  that  might  be  subservient  to  the  attainment 
ot  false  riches  and  honor.    The  uses  of  reading,  writing 


18  PLEA    FOR    THE 

and  arithmetic  are  obvious.  Not  so  the  study  of  the 
undoing  of  Eneas,  while  I  forgot  my  own.  Of  what  use 
\vas  it  to  deplore  the  self-murdering  Dido,  while  yet  I 
could  bear  unmoved  the  death  of  my  own  soul  alienated 
from  Thee,  during  the  course  of  these  pursuits,  from 
thee,  my  God  and  my  life  !  I  loved  thee  not — and  such 
is  the  spirit  of  the  world,  that  I  was  applauded  with 
*  well  dom^  on  every  side.  This  is  the  kind  of  literature 
that  has  arrogated  to  itself  the  name  of  polite  and  liberal 
That  two  and  two  make  four,  was  to  me  an  odious  sing 
song ;  but  the  wooden  horse,  the  burning  of  Troy,  the 
ghost  of  Creusa,  were  to  me  enchanting  spectacles. 
Alas,  thou  torrent  of  human  custom,  who  shall  resist 
thee  1  How  long  shall  it  be  ere  thou  art  dried  up— how 
Jong  wilt  thou  roll  the  sons  of  Eve  into  a  great  and 
tempestuous  sea,  which  even  those  who  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  the  cross  can  hardly  escape.  Have  I  not  read 
at  once  of  Jove,  the  thunderer  and  adulterer.  What  is 
this  but  to  teach  men  to  call  their  crimes  no  crimes, 
while  they  have  the  sanction  of  gods  whom  they  imitate  1 
Terence  introduces  a  profligate  young  man  justifying 
his  lewdness  by  the  example  of  Jove,  while  he  beholds 
on  the  wall  a  picture  of  Jupiter  and  Danae,  and  excites 
himself  to  lust  by  divine  tuition.  'Shall  he  who  shakes 
heaven  by  his  thunder  do  this,  and  may  not  I,  a  poor 
m.ortal,  do  the  same  V  Yet  I,  my  God,  now  indulged  by 
thy  grace  to  behold  thee  in  peace,  learned  these  things 
with  pleasure,  was  delighted  with  them,  and  was  called 
a  boy  of  promising  genius !  But  what  wonder  that  I  de- 
parted from  thee,  my  God,  v.^ien  men  were  proposed  to 
me  as  objects  of  imitation,  who  would  blush  to  be  de- 
tected in  a  barbarism  or  solecism  in  reciting  their  own 
actions  though  they  were  innocent,  and  v»'ho  at  the  same 
time  might  recite  the  story  of  their  own  lewdness  not  only 
with  impunity,  but  even  with  commendation,  provided 
they  did  so  with  a  copious  and  elegant  flow  of  diction." 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  J  9 

Thus  far  his  direct  confession.*  The  fruit  was  worthy 
of  the  tree  and  the  kind  of  cultivation  bestowed  upon  it. 
He  ran  to  excess  of  riot ;  was  unhappy  through  the  con- 
flict of  conscience ;  Jived  some  years  in  adultery ;   be- 
came  a  Manichean  in  principle  j   and  was  equally  an 
adept  in   sin,  superstition,  eloquence  and  learning-.     In 
tracing  the  progress  of  corruption  and  the  consequences 
that  resulted  to  the  world  from  this  mistaken  course,  he 
says,  ''I   deceived,  by  innumerable  falsehoods,  master 
and  parents,  through  the  love  of  play  and  amusements. 
I  robbed   the   storehouse    of  my  parents  through  glut- 
tony, and  to  bestow  things  agreeable  on  my  playmates. 
In   my  plays  I   sought   to   obtain  fraudulent  victories, 
overcome  by  the  desire  of  vain  excellence.    Is  this  pue- 
rile innocence]    Far  from  it,  O  Lord!  Change  only  the 
scene   from    pedagogues   and   masters,   from  nuts,  and 
shells,  and  sparrows,  to  Prefects,  Kings,  and  gold,  and 
estates,  and  we  see  the  vices  of  me?i.^'' 

But  enough.    If  this  be  not  cultivating  the  thorn  and 
thistle  of  the  natural  heart,  then  there  is  no  such  thino- 
possible.     Is  not   the  person  saved  under  such  circum- 
stances, a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ]    There  can  be, 
of  course,  no  objection  to  the  Classics  on  the  score  of 
liierary  taste  and  mere  intellectual  power,  nor  do  I  set 
up  as  a  reformer  ;   but  under  these  obvious   influences 
and  tendencies,  and  in  view  of  the  occasion  before  us,  I 
am  bold   to  say,  that  christian   purity  and  zeal  may  at 
least  demand  Expurgated  Editions;  and  an  ability  and 
heart,  on  the  part  of  instructors  of  christian  youth,  to 
comment  on  the  sentiment  and  principles  as  ^vell  as  in- 
struct in  the  grammatical  construction  of  the  languao-e 
that  sets  them  forth,  and   to  vindicate   and   compare, 
and  exalt   by  the  comparison,  ''  the   excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

*  See  his  Confessions,  as  quoted  by  Milucr  in  his  History  of  the 
Church. 


20  PLEA   FOR    THE 

Your  educated  youth  now  becomes  embarked  i?i  com- 
mercial^  literary^  professional  or  political  pursuits.  His 
mind  having  received  its  cast  and  color,  stiffens  into  a 
particular  form  and  becomes  set.  In  the  pursuits  of 
after  life  he  mainly  enlarges  his  views  and  reapplies 
his  already  acquired  principles.  Even  though  his  time 
is  not  fully  occupied  by  his  business,  the  selfishness 
of  trade,  the  trickery  of  politics,  and  deference  to  pub- 
lic opinion  and  taste  on  questions  of  the  learned  and 
elegant,  confirm  his  errors,  wither  his  remaining  sensi- 
bilities, and  unfit  him  for  attention  to  ^*  sublimer  themes." 
Except  among  the  professional  and  the  devout,  the 
"  true  worshippers,"  there  is  but  little  time  occupied  in 
reading  works  that  directly  ''mend  the  conscience  and 
raise  the  heart."  Our  foreign  relations  are  diversified, 
our  form  of  government  peculiar  and  new,  and  absorb- 
ing questions  continually  arise.  When  an  hour  of 
leisure  comes,  the  mJnd  seeks  relaxation,  and  is  ill 
qualified  and  little  disposed  to  do  more  than  sport  with 
the  light  and  fantastic.  Hence  superficiality,  save  on 
absorbing  topics,  has  become  a  national  characteristic. 
The  American  mind  is  as  limpid  as  the  water  of  our 
inland  seas,  agitated  by  a  zephyr  and  losing  impressions 
as  readily  as  it  receives  them.  First  thoughts  satisfy; 
misleading  analogies  produce  ''  confirmation  strong  ;" 
appearances  deceive  ;  error  becomes  patronized  simply 
because  men  are  mivvilling  to  take  the  trouble  to  think 
on  what  is  ''a  great  thing"  involving  ''their  life." 
And  muhitudes,  v/ho,  for  general  intelligence,  wealth 
and  influence,  ought  to  be  cedars  in  Lebanon,  are  seen  to 
"leave  their  fatness  and  put  their  trust  in  the  bramble." 
Such  being  the  depraved  nature  of  man,  "  drinking 
in  iniquity  like  water,"  and  such  the  depraving  influen- 
ces under  which  a  radically  diseased  mental  constitu- 
tion is  fostered  and  matured,  let  us  now  glance  at  what 
is  the  actual,  main  siap^h  of  the   popz^Iar  press,  and  the 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  21 

principal  aliment  of  the  great  majority  of  mind  in  the, 
reading  world.  It  is  not  denied,  nay,  it  is  witli  gratitude 
and  hope  conceded,  that  science   and  art    are   makino- 
rapid  advances.  The  results  of  protracted  and  laborious 
efibrt   are  beginning  to  bless  the  world  more   largely. 
The  pure  ore,   refined   and  ready  for  use,  is  brought  to 
the  surface  and  bespeaks  the  character  of  the  treasures 
within,  long  hid  in  depths  of  darkness,  arnid  "  the  bars 
of  the  earth."  But  we  are  now  speaking  of  what  affects 
sentiments  and  morals.    The  press,  instead  of  leading  in 
right  sentiment  and  forming  it,  merely  reflects  it  as  it 
is,  and  too  generally  is  a  base  pander  to  a  vile  and  cor- 
rupting appetite.  If  the  public  taste  be  wrong,  the  press 
with  its  indescribable  power  perpetuates  and  extends 
the  injury  thus  inflicted  on  vital  interests.  The  question 
is,  what  will  sell  ?  and  as  in  other  shambles  and  markets, 
so  here,  supply  responds  to  demand,  although  souls  are 
mcluded  in  the  traffic,  and  patriotism  and  piety  cannot 
fail  to  ask,  aghast,  what  will  the  end  be  1 

Shall  I  speak  of  Scott]    for  a  long  time  the  "Great 
Unknown,"  receiving  homage   high   and  pure,  because 
paid  to  the  character  of  the  writings  and  not  the  person 
of  the  man.    What  amazing  fertility  of  genius !     What 
deep  lines  !  What  delicate  shading  !  What  bold  outline  ; 
consistent  keeping;    vivid  coloring!     He  had   only   to' 
cast  the  light  of  his  mind,  with  its  penetrating  power  on 
a  subject,  and  it  stood  forth  before  the  admiring  specta- 
tor,  distinct  and  wondrous  as  the  creations  of  the  pho- 
tographic art.  O  !  had  that  genius  been  to  Mount  Zion 
and  caught  the  inspiration  of  the  temple,  and  the  cross' 
and  the  kingdom  of  the  Savior,  and  diffused  their  savor 
throughout  the  wide  sphere  he  filled  and  the  subjects 
at  his   command,   he   might   now,    and    till  the  end  of 
time,  have  been  seen  in  giant  form  standino-  over  Sco- 
tia   that  "land  of  misty  lakes   and    hoary  mountains" 
and  aJ  lands  that  feel  her  influence,  in  the  attitude  in 

10 


22  PLEA    FOR    THE 

which  David,  from  the  threshing-floor  of  Oman,  saw 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  "as  he  stood  between  heaven 
and  earth  over  Jerusalem,  with  a  draun  sword  in  his 
hand  stretched  over  it,"  but  not,  like  him,  for  destruc- 
tion, but  for  defence. 

The  christian,  however,  cannot  worship  at  his  shrine, 
hut  must  remain  erect  and  resolute  amid  admirino^  mul- 
titudes,  as  Mordecai  before  Haman,  though  he  was  a 
man  whom  kings  delight  to  honor.  Though  an  elder 
in  the  kirk,  he  travestied  her  history,  if  he  did  not 
quite  alter  the  record.  He  spoke  lightly  of  her  mar- 
tyrs. Not  content  with  the  creations  of  fancy,  or  to 
catch  the  living  manners  as  they  rise,  he  drew  largely 
from  materials  consecrated  by  the  most  hallowed  as- 
sociations. A  literary  Napoleon,  he  made  the  spoils  of 
even  sanctuaries  the  ornaments  of  his  capitol.  While 
God  turns  sin  to  the  account  of  reverence  by  taking 
the  censers  of  "  sinners  against  their  own  souls,"  and 
forming  of  them  broad  plates  for  the  altar,  (Numbers, 
16  :  38,)  that  they  might  be  a  perpetual  memorial,  he 
took  down  the  gold  of  the  temple  to  fit  out  a  variety 
shop.  He  traversed  without  reverential  associations  the 
land  that  had  been  the  battle-field  of  religious  liberty, 
and  which  contained  in  its  bosom  the  ashes  of  Knox. 
Confounding  peculiarities  of  form  with  essential  moral 
ingredients  of  character,  he  trampled  scornfully  on  the 
dust  of  those  whose  spirits,  while  he  was  writing,  were 
with  God  ;  and  to  the  fruit  of  whose  suffering  he  owed 
his  freedom  from  molestation  in  the  very  act  of  awa- 
kening ridicule  or  pouring  contempt  upon  their  per- 
sons and  principles !  The  rebuke  of  England's  sweet- 
est poet  applies  to  Scotland's  favorite,  yet  recreant  son: 

*'  Their  ashes  flew 
='  No  marble  tells  us  whither.  With  their  names 
*'  No  bard  embalms  and  sanctifies  his  song: 
"  And  history,  so  warm  on  meaner  themes, 
"  Is  cold  on  this." 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  23 

Nor  can  the  qualified  praise  of  the  succeeding  lines  be 
extended  to  the  writer  named : 

"  She  execrates  indeed 
"  The  tyranny  that  doomed  ihein  to  the  fire, 
"  But  gives  the  glorious  sufferers  little  praise." 

What  is  the  character  of  the  impression  made  upon 
the  mind  of  the  general  reader  on  the  subject  of  a  mi- 
nister of  the  everlasting  Gospel,  an  ambassador  "  to  ne- 
gotiate between  God  and  man  the  high  concerns  of  an 
eternal  state  "  by  the  so-called  good-natured  and  bene- 
volent priest  of  "Jack  Hinton]"  What  but  a  blight  on 
the  garden  of  God  can  be  expected  when  an  east-wind 
of  the  desert,  such  as  Bulwer's  productions  in  the  main 
are,  comes  over  it  at  regular  intervals.  What  is  the 
sterling  and  permanent  value  of  another  class  of  wri- 
ters, who,  though  free  from  the  charge  of  wilfully  "  re- 
moving landmarks,"  yet  are  mere  worldly  moral  men 
themselves,  and  present,  when  they  bring  up  the  subject 
at  all,  radically  defective  views  of  religion  and  of  all  that 
is  necessary  to  form  and  guide  the  conscience  and  make 
meet  for  heaven  1  If  "  Jacob  Faithful,"  and  "  Oliver 
Twist,"  and  "  Nicholas  Nickleby,"  possess  the  charm 
of  sentiment ;  if  they  are  endeared  because  they  are 
"  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor  j"  if  they  appeal 
to  a  different  class  of  feelings  in  the  breast  of  the  read- 
er, their  writers  having  chosen  "  soft  pity's  muse  j"  if 
they  have  fearlessly  laid  open  the  abuses  of  the  poor- 
house  and  boarding-school,  and  thus  subserved  the 
cause  of  philanthropy— 'tis  well  in  its  place,—"  they 
have  their  reward,"— but  it  is  not  such  as,  nor  all  that  \ 
the  welfare  of  man,  as  an  intelligent,  accountable,  de- 
praved and  immortal  being,  requires. 

What  is  the  amount  of  virtues  depicted  1  Submission 
honesty,  simplicity,  fidelity— a  Deist's  religion  will  re- 
commend all  these,   however   destitute    it  may  be   of 
"  sure  testimony,"  "  a  perfect  law,"  of  efficient  help, 


I4t  PLEA    FOR    THE 

of  constraining  motive,  of  pardoned  sin,  and  eternal 
hope.  They  suggest  not  a  thought  beyond  what  is 
available  for  the  purposes  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and 
what  they  present  are  only  somewhat  purer  specimens  out 
of  a  corrupt  mass.  What  is  their  value,  save  to  amuse 
the  public  and  secure  literary  reputation  and  bread  to 
their  authors  1  Suppose  all  they  say  to  be  true,  what 
doth  it  profit  \  Do  they  cure  the  evils  they  portray '1  Do 
they  bring  '^  healing  waters  over  these  miry  places  1" 
Wickedness  is  an  ''  unblushing  mask."  You  may  fray 
away  the  vulture  from  one  carcass,  but  he  will  light 
upon  the  next.  You  stay  the  act,  but  you  leave  the  ap- 
petite. What  are  they  all,  I  ask,  as  correctives  of  wrong  1 
Will  a  picture  of  a  conflagration,  or  the  mere  detection 
of  an  incendiary  stay  the  progress  of  the  flames  1  They 
resemble  a  representation  in  wax  of  a  diseased  part ;  we 
derive  pleasure  in  contemplating  it,  and  our  admiration 
at  the  skill  displayed  overcomes  our  nausea  at  the  offen- 
siveness  of  the  subject.  To  expect  relief  from  this  quar- 
ter is  like  expecting  to  be  benefited  under  sickness  or 
injury,  by  an  artist  skilfully  depicting  us  to  the  life  amid 
the  pallor  and  languor  of  a  sickbed,  or  falling  under  the 
club  of  an  assailant.  I  allow  them  tact,  genius,  interest ; 
but  Vv'hat  are  they  to  the  great  object  we  propose — the 
one  thing  needful,  ''  Lord,  heal  my  soul  V  Their  de- 
fects alone  condemn  them. 

And  what  shall  I  say  of  another  popular  class  of  wri- 
tings which  consists  of  tales,  anecdotes,  and  sentimental 
poetry  ?  among  whose  writers  we  sometimes  find  the 
names  of  commissioned  preachers  of  righteousness, 
which  display  command  of  language,  beauty  of  image- 
ry ;  and  which  exhibit  their  readers  in  a  condition  not 
v.nlike  Anthony  and  Cleopatra,  as  they  gently  floated  on 
the  Nile,  amid  soft  music  and  in  a  perfumed  atmosphere, 
their  sails  silken  and  their  zephyrs  gentle ;  and  which 
aid  in     whiling  pleasantly  away   the   weariness  of  the 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  25 

hours  as  we  almost  imperceptibly  accomplish  the  voyage 
of  life— but  which,  so  far  as  the  value  of  the  sentiment 
IS  concerned,  is  only  embalming  butterflies  and  wasting 
amber  on  preserving  insects  promiscuously  caught,  only 
for  the  sake  of  having  a  subject—"  a  lover's  doleful 
ditty  to  his  mistress'  eye-brows." 

And  what  of  another  class   still,  which,  because   of 
their  pernicious  bearings   on   social   as  well  as  moral 
order,  are  the  more  to  be  deprecated  for  their  intellec- 
tual power  j  a  code  of  blasting,  poisonous  principles,  em- 
bellished with  all  the  graces  of  rhetoric  and  the  skill  of 
art—''  apples  of  Sodom  "  in  pictures  of  silver  j  and  moral 
volcanos,  whose  every  heaving,  in  an  additional  number, 
is  a  new  eruption  of  scorching,  desolating  lava ;  each  one 
an  ^tna  amid  a  garden  more  precious  than  Sicily's] 
These  light   and    noxious  publications  flood  the  land, 
and  they  constitute  a    swarm;  like    miasmatic  exhala- 
tions    their  influence  is  deadly,  and  their  amount  al- 
most darkens  the  light  of  day. 

We  cannot  allow  the  force  of  one  argument  generally 
urged  in  defence  of  these  writings,  that  they  lay  open 
human  nature  and  teach  a  knowledge   of  the  world.    I 
deny  that  there  is  any  true  knowledge  of  man,  his  cha- 
racter, constitution,  duties,  hopes,  but  what  comes  from 
Him  who  made  man,  who  searches  the  heart,  and  who 
has  "  shown  us  what  is  good."  I  deny  that  all  the  books 
m  the  world  put  together,  on  the  subject  of  prudential 
maxims  and    disclosures    of    the    workings  of  human 
nature,  equal   the    one    Book  of   Proverbs,  a  part  of 
God's  revelation.    It  would   indeed  be  a  pitiable  view 
of  the   nature  whose   dignity   and   self-sufficiency  are 
maintained  so   strenuously,  that  its  advocates  call  the 
Gospel  a  libel,  and  repulse  the  Savior,  if  the  views  of  it 
presented  in  those  publications  are  to  "  end  the  matter." 
Their  heroes  are  whited  sepulchres,  their  virtues  a  mere 
mask  for  selfishness.  ''  God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts." 


26  PLEA   FOR    THE 

The  sentiment  of  Young  is  pregnant  with  meaning,  that 
''  No  man  can  underrate  his  merits,  or  overrate  his  na- 
ture." 0  !  what  a  miracle  to  man  is  man  !  He  speaks  of 
"  vast  extremes"  centring  in  us — of  *' different  natures 
marvellously  mixed."  Pope  caught  a  view  of  the  same 
feature  of  his  nature,  when  he  calls  man 

"  A  being  darkly  wise  and  rudely  great, 
*'  The  glory,  jest  and  riddle  of  the  world." 

*Tis  here  the  value  of  the  Gospel  is  seen  and  becomes 
endeared.  It  discloses  his  high  original,  his  guilty  fall, 
his  gracious  recovery ;  and  all  the  phases  his  character 
presents  may  be  explained  by  viewing  them,  either  as 
the  operations  of  an  immortal  spirit  out  of  its  element, 
and  counteracting  the  design  of  a  high,  original  desti- 
nation, or  that  same  spirit  renewed,  conscious,  panting 
after  God  and  struggling  to  rise  from  earth  and  shake 
off  the  weight  and  fetters  that  encumber  his  motions — 
the  one  class  gaining  ''resolution  from  despair,"  the 
other  "  reinforcement  from  hope.'* 

As  to  the  corruption  these  writers  would  expose — is 
to  know  thaiy  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  ?  What  is 
its  amount  \  Mere  morbid  dissection,  the  exhibition  of 
the  offensiveness  of  disease  and  corruption  from  the 
crown  of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot.  And  as  the 
moral  operator  puts  in  his  knife  and  lays  open  the  pu- 
trid mass  and  turns  it  over  and  around,  displaying  at 
each  motion  additional  loathsomeness,  is  this  man  the 
livings  accou7itable,  intelligent  agent?  Is  this  the  extent 
of  your  knowledge  and  art,  ye  physicians  of  no  value] 
Do  you  leave  us  here  amid  putrefaction  and  death? 
Must  we  go  to  the  dissecting-room  to  learn  the  value, 
power  and  uses  of  this  mortal  frame  in  its  true  charac- 
ter and  highest  application  1  Supposing  your  views  true, 
not  only,  (which  they  are  in  part,)  but  the  whole  truth, 


EVANGELICAL  PRESS.  27 

(which  we  deny,)  what  do  you  propose  1  To  gov- 
ern the  world  by  police,  and  let  society  move  on  in- 
definitely as  a  sickly  person  under  the  operation  of  a 
disease  of  which  he  must  die  at  last,  and  in  the  mean- 
while be  harassed  incessantly  by  the  necessity  of 
watching  and  attempts  at  baffling  its  sIoav  yet  certain 
advances.  '*  Thou  fool,  will  thy  discovery  of  the  cause 
suspend  the  effect,    or  heal  it  ]" 

This  knowledge  then  can  do  nothing  more,  on  its  own 
principles^  than  make  a  man  an  expert  fencer,  and  teach 
him  how  to  take  care  of  himself  by  understanding  how 
to  parry  and  thrust,  to  act  on  the  aggressive  and  repel 
assault.  Such  knowledge  fills  the  mind  with  suspicion; 
it  depraves,  for  we  are  transformed  into  what  we  gaze 
upon  and  are  conversant  with  continually.  To  deem  me 
a  villain  is  the  way  to  provoke  me  to  acts  of  villany. 

Society,   under    this    influence,    would   become    like 
Spain  amid  their  civil  wars.    Force  and  artifice  are  ever 
at  work.    Brigands  and  ruffians  lie  in  wait  at  every  step. 
There  are  secluded  castles,  and  dark  glens  and  moun- 
tain passes.    We  need  a  shield  ever  over  our  hearts  and 
a  weapon  in  our  hand ;  to  move  by  stealth  and  sleep 
upon   a  watch.     Set  features,  intent  looks  and  braced 
sinews  will  become  characteristics,  and  all  the  bonds  of 
brotherhood  be  severed  like  flax  before  the  flame.   Socie- 
ty would  be  dissolved,  and  though  the  forms  of  inter- 
course might  of  necessity  be  retained,  all  would  be  heart- 
less as  a  courtier's  smile.    Man's  nature,  susceptible  of 
and  craving  ^'  some  better  thing,"  would  only  render  him 
pre-eminent  in  misery,  even  as  Dryden's  king  was  known 
to  be  one  by  his  peculiar  air  of  discontent.    If  we  were 
wise  and  true  to  our  instincts  we  should  look  out  for  a 
way  of  escape  from  a  world  which  would  be  a  hell  in 
spirit,  and  in  every  thing  but  the  name.     "Help,  Lord, 
for    the    godly  man  ceaseth,  for  the  faithful  fail  from 
amonjr  the  children  of  men  I" 


28  PLEA   POR    THE 

What  we  need  is  something  that  will  hold  in  check 
these  tendencies,  apply  healing  medicines,  and  restrain 
these  passions;  that  will  kindle  anew  the  fire  of  love  on 
these  desecrated  altars  ;  pour  light  through  the  secrecies 
of  action,  and  health  through  the  "  hidden  parts  "  of  the 
soul ;  that  will  clear  up  these  thickets,  expel  the  bat  and 
the  owl  from  these  deserted  palaces,  and  gladden  them 
with  the  light  of  day,  and  consecrate  them  for  a  heavenly 
visitant  that  will  cast  up  a  highway  for  the  people,  and 
restore  the  dominion  of  order,  and  peace,  and  love. 
Where  is  your  help  1  "I  see  him  even  now:  I  behold 
him  nigh  :  there  comes  a  Star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  Scep- 
tre rises  out  of  Israel  that  shall  smite  the  corners  of 
Moab.  And  Edom  shall  be  a  possession.  How  goodly 
are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob,  and  thy  tabernacles,  0  Israel. 
Blessed  is  he  that  blesseth  thee,  and  cursed  is  he  that 
curseth  thee."  "  I  will  make  the  wilderness  pools  of 
water."  "  I  will  plant  in  the  wilderness  the  cedar,  the 
myrtle,  and  the  oil  tree  together."  "  1  will  bring  the 
olind  by  s.  way  they  know  :-iOt  of.  I  will  lead  them 
in  paths  they  have  not  known."  "  O  Zion,  that  bring- 
est  good  tidings,  get  thee  up  into  the  high  mountain  : 
O  Jerusalem,  that  bringest  good  tidings,  lift  up  thy 
voice  with  strength ;  lift  it  up,  be  not  afraid  ;  say  unto 
the  cities  of  Judah,  behold  your  God  !"  "  How  beautiful 
upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace;  that  bringeth  good 
tidings  of  good  things,  that  publisheth  salvation  ;  that 
saith  unto  Zion,  thy  God  reigneth.  Break  forth  into  joy, 
sing  together,  ye  v/aste  places,  for  the  Lord  hath  com- 
forted Zion.  He  will  build  Jerusalem.  He  shall  sprin- 
kle many  nations.  Kings  shall  shut  their  mouths  at 
him,  for  that  which  hiad  not  been  told  them  shall  they 
see,  and  that  which  they  had  not  heard  shall  they 
consider."  Numbers,  24:  Isaiah,  chapters  41,  42,  52, 
and  40 :  9. 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  29 

II.  The  means  and  manner  of  meeting  these  re- 
sponsibilities. 

1.  The  example  of  the  apostle  in  the  case  before  us  is 
highly  instructive  and  conclusive.  It  presents,  1.  per- 
sonal consecration— ?i  distinct  and  direct  reference  to 
the  design  of  his  creation  and  commission.  2.  The 
form  that  consecration  assumed.  "  I  showed witness- 
ed "—he  held  forth  testimony— a  light.  3.  The  subject 
of  his  testimony  was  the  great,  general,  leading,  pecu- 
liar  truths  and  hopes  of  Christianity,  as  the  sum  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures  j  'Uhat  Christ 
should  suffer  and  rise  from  the  dead."  4.  The  extent  of 
this  testimony— to  all  classes,  "  small  and  great,"  min- 
istering, of  necessity,  adapted  truth,  and  to  all  nations, 
both  Jew  and  Gentiles.  5.  He  did  it  with  laborious  ef- 
fort,  painful  endurance  and  great  risk.  God  gave  him 
"help,"  was  his  shield  and  strength  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner and  degree.  6.  He  displayed  a  spirit  of  untiring 
perseverance  and  unflinching  boldness  j  notwithst,anding 
all  opposition,  ''  I  continue."  And,  7.  I  may  add  that 
he  was  so  intent  upon  his  work  that  Festus  for  this, 
among  other  things  connected  with  his  ministry  and 
hope,  thought  him  "  beside  himself." 

These  points  need  not  be  dwelt  upon.  They  present 
however,  one  great  feature  in  God's  moral  government' 
viz.  that  He  accomplishes  his  purposes  by  agencies.  The 
very  battle  wavered  according  as  the  hands  of  Moses 
rose  or  fell.  If  the  rock  is  to  pour  out  water,  it  must 
be  smitten,  though  it  be  only  by  a  rod.  If  the  first- 
born of  Egypt  are  to  die,  it  must  be  by  the  angel's 
sword.  If  ''  Jacob  is  to  arise  when  he  is  small,"  it  must 
be ''by"  some  one.  The  weakness  of  the  instrumen- 
tality proves  that  ''  the  excellency  of  the  power  is  from 
God,"  and  v/eak  things  ''  confound  the  mighty." 

This,  however,  is  not  the  place  to  establish  a  princi- 
ple which  is  recognized  so  distinctly  as  the  obligation 

10* 


30  PLEA   FOR   THE 

of  a  redeemed  sinner  to  follow  Christ  in  "  doing  good." 
And  with  all  due  deference  for  the  spirit  of  reverence 
avowed  for  the  sovereignty  of  God ;  with  an  explicit 
acknowledgment  that  the  "  times  and  seasons  "  are  hid- 
den in  his  own  knowledge,  and  reserved  for  his  own 
power;  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  nothingness  of 
man,  being  but  the  "  saw  in  the  hand  of  him  that  shak- 
eth  it,  and  the   axe   in  the   hand  of  him  that  heweth 
therewith " — we  cannot  but   deem   it  as    inconsistent 
now  to  refuse  methods  and  means  of  aid  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  involving,  though  they  may,  sacrifice,  endu- 
rance, and  resistance  even  unto  blood,  as  it  would  have 
been,  had  those  who  ministered  to  Him  in  the  days  of 
his  flesh,  turned  him  away  from  their  doors  and  denied 
him  a  supply  for  his  wants,  in  the  spirit  and  with  the 
words   of  the   tempter,  who  would  have   thrown   him 
back  on  the  bare  power  of  his  Divinity^  when  he  said, 
'4f  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that  these  stones 
be  made  bread."    If  no  agency  be  admissible,  why  do 
they  build  churches  and  support  a  ministry  for  their 
own  accommodation;  and  if  these  be,  how  can  they 
consistently  stop   there]  If  we   only  provide  for  our- 
selves, "  do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  1"  "  What 
do  ye  more  than  others  1"  What  is  it  but  the  Dagon  of 
selfishness  sitting  in  dark  enthronement  in  the  temple 
of  the  God  of  the  Covenant  1    To  allow  it,  is  to  install 
an  abomination  that  maketh  desolate  in  the  holy  place. 
The  form  which  the  believer's  agency  is  to  assume  is 
the  illustration,  defence,  and  propagation  of  the  truth 
of  God  in  every  variety  of  method — in  the  living  cha- 
racters of  the  life  ;  by  upholding  the  ministry  and  the  or- 
dinances of  religion  ;  by  the  diffusion  of  religious  intelli- 
gence in  the  newspaper  and  periodical ;  by  putting  forth 
the  preventive  influence  of  the  Sabbath-school  and  chris- 
tian education  ;  by  sending  the  Bible  where  the  bestowal 
of  the  whole  volume  at  once  would  not  be  wasted ;  by 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  31 

equipping  and  sustaining  the  missionary,  the  living 
teacher,  wherever  he  can  gain  a  hearing,  or  dare  venture 
in  person  ;  by  the  Tract,  the  smaller  portion  or  more  en- 
larged and  specific  treatise  or  volume  on  a  select  point ; 
pertinent,  seasonable,  plain,  that  can  go  where  the  liv- 
ing teacher  cannot  go,  and  can  stay  when  he  must  de- 
part ;  and  embodies  and  perpetuates  the  truths  he  ut- 
tered in  fugitive  words,  and  which  in  its  character  as 
truth  is  mighty,  and  is  comprehended  within  the  broad 
promise  :  ''My  word  shall  not  return  to  me  void." 

Our  more  jparticular  and  chosen  instrumentality  is  this 
latter;  and  the  object  of  my  remaining  remarks  shall 
be  to  commend  its  claims  to  your  understanding  and 
hearts.  If  they  should  appear  to  be  somewhat  urgent 
and  vindicatory,  'Ms  there  not  a  cause  "  in  the  fact  that 
its  importance  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  lost  sight 
of,  and  that  with  increased  demands,  and  opening  and 
inviting  fields  of  labor,  there  is  a  decreased  supply  of 
the  sinews  of  action  1 

/  would  preface  the  discussion  of  this  part  of  my  sub- 
ject by  one  general  remark,  that  although  many  of  my 
arguments  and  illustrations  refer  to  Tracts,  as  they  are 
technically  and  popularly  denominated,  viz.  religious 
treatises  in  their  smaller  forms  ;  yet  I  do  not  design  by 
any  means  to  limit  my  plea  to  them.  What  I  advocate 
is  Evangelical  Truth  in  a  permanent  form  and  calculated 
for  general  circulation.  The  argument  in  behalf  of 
Volume  Circulation  becomes,  under  given  circum- 
stances and  the  force  of  the  principles  adduced,  cumu- 
lative— "  the  feeble  as  David  and  the  house  of  David 
as  an  angel  of  God."  That  plain,  slow-moving,  colpor- 
teur's wagon,  carrying  from  house  to  house  the  Gospel 
of  the  kingdom,  in  its  spiritual  associations  is  not  un- 
like the  cart  on  which  the  Ark  of  the  Testimony  was 
conveyed  to  the  house   of   Obed-Edom,   where   it  be 


32  PLEA    FOR    THE 

came  a  source  of  blessing  and  an  occasion  of  joy  ;  be- 
fore which  even  a  king  with  a  priest's  ephod  danced 
•with  all  his  might ;  whose  reproach  he  bound  as  a  gar- 
land about  his  brow,  and  the  only  effect  of  which  was  to 
stimulate  the  purpose — if  this  was  vileness,  to  become 
even  "  more  vile."    2  Sam.  6. 

3. Tracts,  in  their  essential  character  as  Divine  truth, 
are  entitled  to  our  regard,  and  warrant  hope  in  their 
use.  Let  me  ask  on  what  rests  our  expectation  of  suc- 
cess in  any  form  of  attempt  at  '^  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness," from  the  mother  with  her  child  upon  her  lap,  to 
the  preacher  conscious  of  his  awful  charge  ;  or  the 
missionary  believing  that  they  '^  that  dwell  in  the  wil- 
derness shall  bow  before  Him  1" 

You  will  quote  the  promises  and  assurances  :  ^'  The 
w^ords  that  I  speak  are  spirit  and  life."  "  The  engrafted 
word  which  is  able  to  save."  ''  Of  his  own  will  begat 
he  us  Vv'ith  the  word  of  truth."  "  He  that  goeth  forth 
weeping,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  return  with  joy, 
bring-ino;  his  sheaves  with  him."  "  The  hand  of  the 
diligent  maketh  rich."  Enough,  grant  it,  grant  it;  but 
■why  is  not  all  this  my  encouragement  as  well  as  yours  1 
If  you  speak  of  the  unpretending  form  of  these  instruc- 
tions, so  is  the  Bible  a  silent,  unobtrusive  volume,  the 
work  of  many  holy  men,  and  gradually  increased  to 
its  present  size.  So  is  every  book  powerless,  and  dumb, 
and  inoperative  till  you  consult  it.  So  also  the  Author 
of  all  truth  was  deemed  a  root  out  of  dry  ground.  So 
Paul  was  weak  in  bodily  presence  ;  but  we  assuredly  do 
not  need  to  be  reminded  that  the  very  filings  of  gold 
are*  precious  ;  that  every  single  ray  of  light  comes  from 
the  sun ;  and  that  there  is  not  a  crumb  that  falls  from 
our  tables  but  it  is  the  gift  of  God ;  and  that  the  quality 
of  truth  more  than  the  amount  is  its  recommendation. 
It  takes  but  a  very  small  portion  of  truth  to  convert 
the   soul,  if  it   only  receives  application  from  above  3 


EVANGELICAL    PllESS.  33 

and  without  this  opening  of  the  eyes  to  ''  behold  won- 
drous things  out  of  God's  law,"  you  would  in  vain  con- 
centrate the  light  of  seven  days  upon  one  sightless  eye- 
ball. A  single  summons,  consisting  of  only  two  words, 
''  follow  me,"  severed  the  connection  between  the  heart 
of  Matthew  and  his  place  at  the  money  changers'  table. 
One  sentence  brings  Zaccheus  joyfully  down  the  tree 
to  the  feet  of  Christ.  One  declaration  uttered  in  a  breath 
sent  away  the  woman  that  Vv^as  a  sinner,  penitent  and 
relieved,  from  the  house  of  the  Pharisee.  The  great- 
est results  had  a  beginning.  The  arrow  that  does  exe- 
cution enters  with  a  point.  There  is  not  a  triumph 
you  can  claim  foi-  truth,  in  any  form  of  dispensation, 
that  cannot  be  claimed  for  this.  "  The  blind  receive 
their  sight,  the  lame  walk,  the  deaf  hear."  Our  cause 
has  sympathetic  joy  with  the  shepherd  bearing  home- 
ward a  recovered  sheep.  It  exults  in  bearing  its  humble 
part  in  producing  and  sustaining  the  revival,  where  the 
Spirit  of  God  moves  mighty  assemblies  by  a  common 
impulse,  as  the  trees  of  the  forest  are  moved  by  the 
winds,  coming  down  in  answer  to  prayer  and  exhibit- 
ing his  reviving  influence  in  hearts  in  which  the  seed 
of  his  truth  has  been  deposited. 

Before  this  revelation  came,   systems  of  philosophy, 
falsely  so  called,  were  the  only  guides  of  men  on  moral 
subjects  and  eternal  hopes,  as  a  writer  declares,  ''  In  this 
region  and  shadow  of  death  the  learned   and  illiterate 
sat  for  ages  looking  at   each  other  in  despair  or  scorn. 
From  time  to  time  some  have  started  up  after  profound 
study  and    perambulated    the  valley,    parading   a  new 
theory  of  mind,   matter,  or  morals  j  and  for  a°time  the 
hopeless  spectators  forgot  their  misery  in  a  discussion 
of  the  mystery,  but  they  discussed  only  to  discard."* 
Of  each  one   in  succession  it  proved  true,  that  their 
lights  went  out. 

*  Philip's  Manly  Piety  in  its  Principles. 


34  PLEA   FOR    THE 

Every  thing  but  the  Gospel,  as  a  "  guide  to  happiness 
on  hisfh,"  in  the  God  it  reveals,  the  view  of  man  it  fur- 
nishes,  the  great  features  of  God's  moral  government  it 
exhibits,  and  the  foundation  of  hope  it  points  out,  is  a 
stupendous  lie — a  lie,  because  Christ  declares,  "  I  am 
the  light  of  the  world."  Stupendous  in  view  of  the  so- 
lemnity of  the  subject,  the  boldness  of  the  pretence, 
the  character  and  permanence  of  the  effect  and  the 
scale  of  its  operations,  and  because  involving  the  wreck 
of  immortal  hopes.  ''Error,"  said  Hume,  "  can  never 
produce  the  effect  of  truth  ;"  and  his  and  our  Judge  has 
said, ''  No  lie  is  of  the  truth."  In  truth  is  our  hope.  Call 
then,  if  you  please,  our  agency  dimirrdtive.  Shall  one  of 
the  younger  members  of  the  family  and  sisterhood  of 
truth  be  proscribed  or  neglected  because  she  is  little  1 
'Tis  a  ray,  at  least,  of  the  Day-spring  from  on  high — 
would  you  arrest  its  progress,  or  attempt  its  extinguish- 
ment 1  Wherever  a  Tract  is  conveyed,  there  is  '*  set 
up  a  banner  for  the  truth"  in  a  deluded  world.  At  our 
peril  we  either  advance  to  take  it  down,  or  fail  to  im- 
prove its  conquest  or  rally  around  and  advance  it. 

2.  These  publications  arc  commended  by  their  cha- 
racter as  Catholic  Truth  ;  and  associated  effort  in  regard 
to  them  is  the  harbinger  and  means  of  promoting  unity 
in  views  and  harmony  in  action.  The  kingdom  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  the  only  true  universal  empire  ;  and  in 
its  establishment  alone  this  sublime  conception  (a 
phantom  when  projected  or  attempted  by  earthly  mo- 
narchs)  will  be  realized.  ''  As  yet  we  see  not  all  things 
put  under"  Christ  ;  but  within  his  acknowledged  domi- 
nions there  are  diversities  of  administration  and  action. 
Mere  denominational  differences  maintained  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  intelligent  and  conscientious  preference,  and 
in  the  spirit  of  love,  are  perhaps  not  quite  so  much  to 
be  deplored  as  some  at  first  sight  might  imagine ; 
while  the  spirit  of  sect,  in  its  exclusive  claims  and  into- 


EVAI^GELICAL    PRESS.  85 

lerant  action,  stands  rebuked  by  the  sight  this  platform 
presents.  The  only  '^  fire  "  here  called  down  from  hea- 
ven on  each  other  is  that  influence  of  the  "  Holy  One" 
(Isaiah,  10  :  17)  which  ''  consumeth  the  chaff"  remain- 
ing in  our  christian  character  j  which  hath  a  "  most 
vehement  flame;"  which  sat  in  the  form  of  cloven 
tongues  on  the  disciples  at  Pentecost,  and  is  our  hope 
that  all  nations  will  yet  speak  in  their  own  tongues  the 
wonderful  works  of  God.  We  receive  each  other  in  the 
person  of  Christ.  We  avow  a  common  salvation.  (Jude, 
3.)  We  are  one  in  Christ  our  Head — our  bond  is  truth, 
our  spirit,  love. 

Whatever  tributes  our  remaining  infirmities  of  feeling 
or  defective  views,  or  our  ignorance  how  to  combine 
practically  our  respective  forms  and  opinions  in  one  sys- 
tem, may  receive  in  our  maintained  peculiarities  within 
our  respective  sanctuaries  and  denominational  lines,  we 
are  not  content  without  a  united  tribute  also  to  the  doc- 
trine of  a  unity  of  faith  and  of  a  holy  Catholic  Church, 
and  an  implied proiest  against  the  inferences  these  fruits 
of  our  remaining  infirmities  might  seem  to  warrant. 
The  Tract  Society  exhibit  this  more  prominently  than 
the  Bible  Society,  for  we  do  not  here,  as  there,  merely 
receive  revelation  en  masse,  without  note  or  comment, 
but  we  agree  on  the  question  what  are  its  distinguish- 
ing features,  its  saving  and  essential  truths;  and  we 
make,  in  the  very  spirit  and  form  of  our  organization,  a 
much  nearer  approximation  to  seeing  "eye  to  eye." 

We  act  also  without  the  risk  of  collision  attendinsf 
united  missionary  operations.  Where  men,  as  is  there 
necessarily  the  case,  are  agents  with  discretionary  and 
somewhat  undefined  powers,  they  will  always  leave  the 
imprint  of  their  mental  biases  on  their  work.  The  noise 
of  axes  and  hammers,  and  sometimes  the  strife  of 
tongues  is  heard  in  the  erection  of  the  temple,  and  of 
ten  the  scaffolding  enlists  more  interest  than  the  pile 


36  PLEA  FOR  THE 

But  the  Tract  league  is  a  perfectly  defined  one,  offensive 
and  defensive.  The  types  we  employ  are  mutes  till  we 
bid  them  speak,  and  they  can  speak  nothing  but  what 
we  all  agree  they  shall  utter.  Our  publications  are 
truths  also  in  such  form  as  generalizes  the  views  and 
liberalizes  the  feelings. 

The  whole  field  appears  like  land  to  the  mariner  yet 
far  oft"  at  sea,  though  in  sight.  He  sees  not  the  fences, 
hedges  and  lines  which  indicate  individual  proprietor- 
ship ;  but  what  he  does  see  is  the  place  of  his  friends, 
his  country,  his  home.  From  this  position  we  catch  the 
broad  and  distinctive  features  of  Christianity,  in  contrast 
with  every  other  hope  ever  brought  in,  such  as  they  ap- 
pear to  be  and  are  necessarily  set  forth  by  the  mission- 
ary, who,  from  the  sickening  scenes  that  surround  him, 
turns  to  rest  his  eye  upon  the  spot  where  God  "  com- 
mands the  blessing,"  and  his  "tabernacle  is  with  men.*' 
All  who  may  warrantably  hope  to  meet  in  heaven,  may 
and  should  meet  somewhere  on  earth ;  and  here  is  one 
unexceptionable  place  and  work.  A  strong  conviction 
of  common  danger,  an  oppressive  sense  of  obligation, 
will  stir  up  and  reveal  the  hitherto  deep-laid,  hidden 
and  dormant  elements  of  character ;  the  features  of  the 
soul  will  strike  through,  and  the  lines  be  strength- 
ened by  action,  even  as  patriots  may  differ  about  poli- 
tics at  home,  but  are  found  side  by  side,  and  shoulder 
to  shoulder  to  repel  invasion  and  meet  the  enemy 
on  the  shore,  because  they  both  love  their  country. 
"There,"  said  an  officer  who  had  received  a  challenge 
to  the  man  who  gave  it,  Avhen  the  alarm-gun  was  fired 
and  the  drum  beat  to  arms,  "Mere  is  the  foe  ^  let  us  give 
proof  in  the  conflict  at  hand  who  is  the  bravest  man." 
In  the  pause  here  created  amid  the  clashing  interests, 
and  sentiments,  and  jarring  movements  of  the  religious 
world,  how  appropriate  and  sweet  the  words  of  Adam  to 
Eve,  as  portrayed  by  the  most  sublime  of  uninspired  poets: 


EVANGELICAL-PRESS.  37 

"  But  rise,  let  us  no  more  contend,  nor  blame 
"  Each  other,  blamed  enough  elsewhere,  but  strive 
"  In  oflices  of  love,  how  we  may  lighten 
"  Each  other's  burden  in  our  share  of  wo." 

I  love  the  Tract  cause,  because,  without  sacrificing 
one  distinctive  principle,  it  is  the  truth,  "  the  truth  in 
Jesus,"  without  the  encumbering  influence  of  a  given 
form,  or  the  repelling  aspect  of  one  we  do  not  prefer. 
Who  can  tell,  of  the  numerous  hands,  hearts  and  heads 
that  wrote  the  contents  of  these  volumes,  what  was 
their  name,  save  disciples  of  Christ  1  The  conflict  they 
create  is  between  the  conscience  of  the  reader  and  the 
power  of  truth,  and  this  is  the  effect  they  aimed  at. 
They  operate  with  the  vigorous  and  pervading  power 
of  a  process,  and  not  the  superficiality  and  attractions 
of  a  mere  mode.  What  they  effect,  they  eflect  noise- 
lessly, yet  before  their  penetrating,  melting,  refining  in- 
fluence the  power  of  iniquity  is  broken  and  disappears 
as  the  bands  of  winter  are  dissolved  before  the  breath 
of  spring,  and  here  is  the  "  hiding  of  their  power." 

As  in  the  case  of  feudal  tenures  before  the  march  of 
order,  and  light,  and  truth,  the  weaker  became  merged 
in  the  more  powerful ;  as  the  independence  of  the 
barons  gradually  yielded  and  the  lines  of  demarcation 
claimed  by  them  faded  away,  until  at  length  central  im' 
perial  power  swayed  its  sceptre  over  the  whole  terri- 
tory, combined  all  these  separate  interests  in  one,  and 
blended  the  whole  mass  of  population  under  one  law, 
name  and  jurisdiction;  even  so  the  cautious,  conser- 
vative spirit  of  denominational  attachment,  necessary 
and  honorable  under  existing  circumstances,  will  gra- 
dually yield  to  the  confiding  spirit  and  enlarged  mea- 
sure of  christian  love ;  the  whole  mass  of  spiritual 
material  will  be  melted  down  under  the  assimilating 
and  blending  influence  of  the  experience  and  love  of 
the  truth,  until  the  promise  shall  be  fulfilled:  the  Lord 
shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth.   ''  In  that  day  there  shall 


38  PLEA    FOR    THE 

be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one."  And  of  this,  thouo-h 
we  have  not  yet  the  sum,  we  have  the  pledge  and  its  first 
fruits,  for  in  this  blessed  work  of  doing  good  and  com- 
municating we  are  all  made  ''to  drink  in  one  spirit." 

3.  I  love  the  Tract,  because  while  it  is  Catholic  es- 
sential truth,  a  light  kindled  at  the  altar  of  God,  it  is 
characteristic  in  its  form. 

It  is  cheap — the  widow's  mite  can  purchase  it  and  aid 
its  distribution,  and  the  very  miser  hardly  dare  refuse  to 
dispense  what  is,  as  nearly  as  possible,  of  all  the  works 
of  men's  hands,  as  free  as  God's  gift  of  vital  air  and  re- 
joicing light.  It  is  portable,  and  like  a  good  conscience, 
is  a  pleasant  companion,  a  continual  remembrancer,  and 
is  easily  carried. 

It  is  seasonable  and  adapted  truth.  A  Tract  Volume  is 
a  quiver  full  of  arrows,  and  we  may  select  such  a  one  as 
we  need.  The  Bible  is  the  storehouse,  or  rather  the  ex- 
haustless  mine  ;  here  are  portions  prepared  for  our  use, 
and  we  may  lay  our  hand  at  once  on  what  we  may  judge 
available.  It  is  not  the  quiver  and  its  contents  bodily 
discharged  that  w^e  employ  in  execution  j  but  the  single, 
selected,  well-aimed  arrow.  Such  arrows,  shaped  and 
suited  for  every  variety  of  occasion  by  masters  of  as- 
semblies, the  Tract  Society  places  within  our  reach, 
labelled  and  with  directions.  Their  publications  com- 
bine a  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  conviction  of  both 
the  philosophic  and  common  mind.  Philosophy  would 
be  ashamed  to  reject  induction,  and  nothing  strikes  the 
ordinary  intellect  like  a  fact. 

It  has  doubtless  been  observed  how  largely  they  con- 
sist of  great  principles  applied  and  illustrated  by  actual 
occurrences ;  how  much  narrative  and  incident  are 
found  in  them,  while  it  is  a  fixed  and  avowed  rule  to 
exclude  every  thing  fictitious  and  unauthenticated.  Now 
what  is  the  reason  that  the  great  majority  of  christians 
read  the  Gospels  and  historical  parts  of  the  Scriptures 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  39 

most  1  Why,  when  we  circulate  pure  revelation,  do  we 
begin  with  portions  from  them  for  the  heathen,  but 
because  they  exhibit  truth  applied  to  character  and 
circumstances,  pertinent  and  convincing,  and  perceived 
in  its  value  and  bearings  by  one  who  knew  what  was 
in  man,  and  who  detected,  warned,  convinced  or  com- 
forted, as  the  case  might  require.  It  is  this  character 
of  incident,  a  crowded  stage,  busy  action  and  stirring 
scenes,  that  give  interest  to  the  novel  and  romance. 
While  the  pulpit  is  pre-eminently  the  place  for 
holding  forth  the  word  of  life,  the  Tract  is  the  appro- 
priate means  of  gathering  up  and  improving  much  that 
would  otherwise  be  lost ;  and  is  supplemental,  in  an  in- 
ferior and  warrantable  sense,  to  the  Gospel.  We  follow 
the  Gospel  in  its  course  through  the  world,  as  the  first 
disciples  did  its  Divine  Author.  We  hear  its  lessons, 
observe  its  influence,  and  record,  in  familiar  forms, 
scenes  and  occurrences  that  arise  from  it.  What  is 
written  of  the  words  and  actions  of  the  Savior  is  but 
a  small  part  of  what  he  said  and  did.  We  have  a  speci- 
men of  one  of  his  till  then  omitted  sayings  incidentally 
named  by  Paul,  that  ''it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  And  I  see  not  why  revivals  now  may  not  be 
recorded  and  rejoiced  over  as  well  as  when  the  disciples 
said  in  holy  gratulation,  ''  Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life,"  and  were  inter- 
ested and  took  action  when  they  heard  "that  Samaria 
had  received  the  word  of  God."  I  cannot  see  why 
striking,  hopeful  and  undeniable  conversions  now,  may 
not  call  up  adoring  wonder  as  well  as  when  Saul  of  Tar- 
sus breathed  no  longer  in  threatenings  but  in  prayer.  I 
need  hardly  say  that  we,  of  course,  disclaim  for  these 
records  the  authority  or  rank  of  revelation;  but  are 
they  not  the  Lord's  doings,  and  should  they  not  be  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes  1  Are  they  not  in  keeping  with  what 
he  did  while  yet  with  usl    Do  they  not  illustrate  his 


40 


riEA  FOR  THE 


promises  and  furnish  "  infallible  proof"  that  Jesus  is  yet 
alive  1  And  may  not  objectors  be  met  with  the  reply  of 
Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  to  those  who  said  these 
men  are  full  of  new  wine,  that  this  is  what  God  has 
promised:  ''I  v/ill  pour  out  my  Spirit  on  all  flesh  1" 

To  be  consistent  in  rejecting  what  is  so  peculiarly  the 
business,  the  charm,  and  the  eflicacy  of  the  Tract,  viz. 
to  gather  facts,  and  illustrate  and  apply  principles,  we 
must  cast  aside  the  lessons  of  our  own  personal  expe- 
rience ;  but  can  we  do  so  and  be  innocent]  What  is  im- 
portant to  me  as  iruik,  is  also  important  /o  others.  What 
is  true  in  my  experience,  and  may  warrantably  influ- 
ence, does  not  become  false  or  unimportant  because 
it  is  printed  and  circulated.  Are  we  not  obligated  to 
cry,  "  Come  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  de- 
clare what  he  has  done  for  my  soul,"  and  to  "magnify 
his  works  which  men  behold  1" 

4.  These  publications  seem  to  be  essential  to  complete 
the  assortment  of  the  desirable  instrumentalities  of  rio-h- 
teousness.  We  need  the  "whole  armor  of  God."  TI13 
breo.stp]ate,  however  important,  without  the  helmet 
would  leave  us  sorely  exposed ;  and  the  shield  without 
the  sword  might  secure  personal  safety,  but  we  should 
not  be  able  to  put  forth  aggressive  action.  Apply  the  il- 
lustration. We  are  not  warranted,  because  our  depend- 
ence is  on  the  excellency  of  God's  power,  merely  to 
stand  still  and  wait  for  his  salvation. 

We  have,  confessedly  from  God,  the  Bible,  "mighty 
through  God,"  its  pathway  through  the  empire  of  dark- 
ness traceable  by  the  desolation  of  its  strongholds.  W/io 
executed  the  first  writing  on  earth  1  What  was  written, 
and /or  what  purposes  1  In  the  fact  that  God  wrote  his 
law  and  laid  it  up  for  reference  by  his  people,  and  that 
in  it  we  have  something  palpable  addressed  to  human 
eyes  and  put  in  human  hands,  we  have  what  at  once  de- 
stroys the  foundation  of  those  who  would  fain  dissuade 


EVANGELICAL  PRESS.  4  ] 

from  action  because  of  the  impiety  and  presumption  in- 
volved in  the  idea  of  being  "  co-workers  with  God." 

But   is  this,  the   bestowal   of  a  revelation,  Me  only 
agency  permitted,  required,  necessary'?    The  paper  and 
ink  of  the  Bible,  like  the  material  parts  of  all  other  books, 
is  of  the   earth,  earthy.     That   volume,  though  it  has 
cherubim  shading  it  with  their  wings,  and  bending  over 
it  in  study  of  its  mysteries,  has  not  the  wino-s  of  the 
cherubim  appended,  by  means  of  which  it  may  fly  in- 
stinct with  life  and  love  to  the  relief  of  the  dwellers  in 
dark  places.    The  "  gates  of  hell  "  would  never  multiply 
it  or  give  it  circulation ;   but   would    rather  see,  as  was 
once  the  case,  a  solitary  copy  for  an  entire  region  of 
earth   and   that    chained   fast    in    some    dark    cloister, 
than  the  tons  weight  of  it  which  strain  the  timbers  of 
your    depositories,   and    are    ready  for   diffusion.    No. 
Man  has  an  agency,  '^  holding  forth  the  word  of  life." 
But  is  this  ain     Is  the  circulation  of  that  blessed 
volume  the  "  whole  duty  of  man  1"    Who  sent  Aaron  to 
Pharaoh  to   enforce   his   command  by  Moses  1      Who 
placed  Ezra  in  his  pulpit  of  wood  1    W^ho  said  to   the 
prophet,  "Run,  speak V    Who  asks,  ''Whom  shall  we 
send,  and  who  will  go  for  us  V    Who  told  the  disciples 
I  send  you  forth,  "  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so 
send  I  you  1"    The  angel  flying  through  the  midst   of 
heaven  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach,  is  but 
the  august  symbol  of  men  proclaiming  to  the  astonished 
nations,  "Behold  your  God!" 

While  Christ  then  has  settled  the  ConsUtuHon  of  his 
church — by-laws  and  incidental  forms  and  instrumental- 
ities are  all  committed  to  our  judgment,  zeal  and  love. 
For  want  of  this  obvious  distinction  many  are  sorely  dis- 
tressed at  the  sin  of  Sabbath-schools  and  other  forms  of 
benevolent  action,  because  they  do  not  ^x^Cl  a  regularly 
drawn  constitution  in  the  Bible.  They  might  as  reason- 
ably  have   refused    aid   to    the   man   who   fell   among 


42  PLEA  FOR  THE 

thieves,  because  the  prescription  of  the  surgery  and  ihe 
very  salve  the  case  required  are  not  presented  in  the  law 
of  love.  The  disciple  of  Jesus,  the  "  new  man,"  has  a 
head  and  heart  and  two  hands,  and  they  are  all  ''  the 
Lord's."  These  are  his  furniture  for  good  words  and 
works;  and  in  this  wretched  world  he  need  not  take  two 
steps  before  he  can  find  occasion  and  a  place  to  begin. 
What  I  contend  for,  then,  is  not  only  warrant  but  the 
OBLIGATION  of  providing  what  may  seem  to  be  desirable 
and  important  auxiliaries  in  carrying  out  the  duties  of 
our  stewardship. 

From  the  question  of  principle  I  now  come  to  the 
question  of  fact :  Is  ihe  Tract  cause  such  an  agency  ? 
Amid  the  neglect  of  the  Bible  and  the  utter  thoughtless- 
ness of  men,  the  Tract  fluttering  in  mid  heaven  and 
crossing  the  field  of  vision,  a  flying  roll,  though  inscribed 
with  mercy  as  well  as  wo,  catches  attention;  the  subject 
at  least  comes  up;  and  if  one  reads,  with  Balaam  when  the 
angel  met  him — he  will  find  his  path  somehow  obstructed, 
and  he  cannot  get  on  without  an  awakened  sense  of 
guilt  and  humbling  confession.  With  catechisms  and 
other  formularies,  it  contains  elementary  truths,  out- 
lines, specimens;  and  in  its  relation  to  the  great  system, 
it  stands  like  an  inviting  gateway  to  the  field  of  promise 
and  eternal  hope. 

It  aids  attention  as  well  as  arrests  it,  and  fixes  impres- 
sions. Foster  has  exhibited,  in  a  striking  point  of  view, 
the  strange  and  affecting  waywardness  of  the  heart  of 
man  in  the  fact,  that  when  the  preacher  "  comes  in  the 
name  of  God,"  rehearses  his  law,  and  arraigns  his  au- 
dience, great  and  small,  before  the  "  great  white  throne," 
and  in  ideal  presence  places  them  there, — the  sound  of 
a  retiring  footstep,  the  slamming  of  a  pew-door,  or  the 
fall  of  a  hat  from  a  peg,  can  arrest  and  divert  attention, 
and  interrupt  if  not  break  the  spell  which  truth  has 
momentarily  thrown  over  their  minds.    By  means  of  the 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  4-3 

Tract,  the  minister,  in  retiring  from  the  inquiry  meeting 
or  the  sick  room,  may  thus  leave  his  memorial  behind 
him.  His  words  indeed  have  vanished  into  thin  air  5 
but  here  is  their  substance,  and  while  held  before  or  ap- 
plied to  the  heart  and  conscience,  the  impression  be- 
comes transferred.  The  missionary  also  utters  a  few 
plain  truths  and  then  leaves  the  child  of  darkness  to 
hold  converse  with  the  "  talking  leaf,"  and  he  thus  sta- 
tions an  unbribeable  guard,  a  stern  sentinel,  wherever 
he  can  get  a  foothold  or  a  hearing.  It  is  a  grappling- 
iron  by  means  of  which  we  retain  a  control  over  those 
with  whom  we  come  in  contact,  and  to  go  forth  with- 
out it  is  to  go  to  a  field  of  conflict  without  an  im- 
portant weapon  to  wield  when  we  get  there.  Who  feels 
above  confessing  the  aid  derived  from  such  pointed, 
coherent, impressive  exhibitions  of  Gospel  truth  as  they 
contain  1 

Besides,  we  have  hereby  a  hold  on  men  by  ihe  pow- 
er of  association.  If  we  simply  deliver  a  message,  our 
words  are  only  breath,  and  if  one  hears  respectfully, 
though  "  he  does  them  not,"  there  is  nothing  that 
rouses  a  sense  of  guilt ;  and  men  will  excuse  themselves 
for  rejecting  the  message  by  reflecting  on  at  least  their 
patient  and  passive  reception  of  the  messenger.  But  the 
very  act  of  thrusting  aside  a  Tract  is  an  outward  start- 
ling putting  away  of  the  word  of  truth,  and  stands  in  an 
obvious  and  appalling  relation  to  an  "  evil  heart  of  un- 
belief," and  a  man's  confirmed,  public,  formal  rejection 
by  Christ.  If  the  Tract  is  received,  and  he  feels  resentful, 
it  would  be  poor  satisfaction  to  vent  his  rage  on  an  in- 
animate and  harmless  piece  of  paper ;  and  whether  he 
neglect  or  destroy  it,  he  must  offer  violence  to  his  con- 
science, and  have  a  strucr<rle  on  the  occasion.  If  perus- 
ed,  when  our  words  of  v/arninor  no  lons^er  sound  in  the 
ear  they  are  heard  in  disturbing  echoes  from  the  Tract ; 
and  we  leave  him  alone,  his   conscience  and  the  truth 


44  PLEA   FOR    THE 

confronted.  Nay,  the  very  capitals  in  a  Tract,  ETER- 
NITY, have  been  known  to  catch  the  eye  of  a  lover  of 
pleasure,  and  convey  the  word,  with  its  overwhelming 
solemnities,  to  the  soul.  With  the  impious  king  who 
saw  a  handwriting  on  the  wall,  she  trembled,  her  sin 
was  continually  before  her,  nor  did  her  anxieties  cease 
till  she  found  peace  in  believing,  and  could  say,  "  My 
soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord  and  my  spirit  rejoiceth  in 
God  my  Savior,"  and  she  exchanged  her  trembling  on 
the  verge  of  eternal  wo  for  the  character  of  '^heir  of 
eternal  life,  which  God,  who  cannot  lie,"  hath  promised 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

5.  We  claim  regard  to  these  publications,  because  of 
their  varied  character^  direct  hearings  and  powerful  and 
attraciive  exhibition  of  Gospel  truth.  Did  I  propose  to 
disturb  the  ease  of  a  careless  sinner,  I  would  put  into 
his  hand  "  The  Barren  Fig-tree."  Was  he  to  reform  in 
a  few  particulars,  and  ask,  "  What  lack  I  yet  V  I  would 
bring  forth  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary,  and  show  him 
''  The  Moral  Man  Tried,"  and  convince  him  that  ^'  Every 
Man  is  the  Friend  or  Enemy  of  Christ."  Should  he  be 
startled,  I  would  hold  him  to  his  position  by  pressing 
on  him  the  ''  Worth  of  the  Soul"  and  the  horrors  of 
''  Heaven  Lost."  Should  refuge  fail  him,  and  should  he 
cry  out  in  despair,  I  would  answer  the  "  Great  Ques- 
tion," and  hold  before  him  the  '^  Cross  of  Christ,"  and 
bid  him  "  Come,  and  Welcome."  Should  he  be  discou- 
raged by  the  day  of  small  things  in  his  soul,  I  would  in- 
struct him  in  the  "  Progress  of  Grace,"  and  the  nature 
of  "  Walking  by  Faith."  When  drooping  through  sor- 
row, I  would  give  him  ''  'Tis  all  for  the  best,"  and  re- 
light the  fires  of  his  languid  eye  by  hope  in  the  Lord. 
Had  he  a  family,  ^'Advice  to  a  Married  Couple,"  ^'  Chris- 
tian Education"  and  '^  Family  Worship  "  should  be  my 
chosen  ^'  words  in  season."  Did  gray  hairs  appear  upon 
him  here  and  there,  and  strangers  devour  his  strencfth. 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  45 

I  would  warn  him  of  the  danger  of  the  "Decay  of  Spi- 
ritual Affections,"  and  "  The  Sin  and  Danger  of  ne- 
glecting the  Savior."  I  would  relieve  that  sinking  of 
spirit  which  ensues  when  the  enemy  comes  in  like  a 
flood,  by  the  stirring  exhibition  of  the  "  Church  Safe  j" 
and  rouse  the  fearful  soul  that  tires,  and  faints,  and 
walks  the  ways  of  God  no  more,  by  showing  him  "  A 
Forty  Years'  Prayer-meeting."  The  path  of  the  young 
should  have  waymarks,  in  the  exposures  here  made  of 
Debauchery,  Intemperance  and  Gambling,  surmounted 
by  the  inscription,  "  My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee,  con- 
sent thou  not."  I  would  also  explode  in  their  view,  with 
more  than  electro-magnetic  power,  the  "  Objections  of 
the  Infidel "  by  the  Tract  that  bears  that  name.  I  would 
rebuke  the  worldling  and  cheer  the  saint  by  inviting 
them  respectively  to  take  their  station  with  me  at  the 
bedside  of  Payson  in  the  '*  Land  of  Beulah,"  and  show- 
ing them  the  consistent  keeping  between  the  life  and 
death  of  the  righteous.  Yes,  to  help  me  both  "  Keep 
my  Heart"  and  ''  Teach  my  hands  to  war,"  next  to  the 
Bible,  ever  foremost  give  me  the  Tract  Volumes.  He  has 
missed  much  who  has  not  visited  this  garden  of  plants 
from  "  Paradise  Regained,"  in  the  midst  of  which,  dif- 
fusing savor  and  giving  character  to  all  around,  stands 
the  Tree  of  Life,  its  fruit  varied  and  monthly,  and  its 
leaves  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  And  he  has  reason 
to  question  the  soundness  of  his  spiritual  health  who  does 
not  relish  it  and  rove  through  it  "  with  ever  new  delight." 
Talk  of  your  Annuals  and  holiday  presents !  The 
price  of  one  of  them  will  purchase  a  dozen  or  a  score 
of  these  publications,  whose  is  the  rare  property  of 
value  in  the  contents  and  not  the  form,  and  on  every 
one  of  which  may  be  written :  "  The  testimony  of 
the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple.  More  to 
be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine 
gold,  sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the  honey-comb." 

11 


46  PLEA    FOR    THE 

But  these  publications  are  not,  as  many  erroneously 
suppose,  calculated  only  for  the  young,  the  devout,  the 
afflicted,  or  the  simply  well  meaning.  We  fear  not  to 
put  them  forth  for  premiums  at  the  literary  fair,  and  to 
recommend  them  as  not  to  be  disdained  even  by  lips 
"wet  with  Castalian  dews."  Can  you  on  any  subject 
show  a  clearer  piece  of  tracery  than  the  outline  of  the 
way  from  hell's  dark  door  to  a  throne  of  light  in  "  James' 
Anxious  Inquirer  'V  Had  earth  ever  a  more  rapt  spirit 
than  Baxter  ]  or  one  whose  writings  do  more  to  fill  the 
whole  scene  with  light,  and  in  the  perusal  of  which 
heaven  more  readily  "  comes  down  our  souls  to  greet  V 
Can  you  produce  more  exquisite  and  touching  sim- 
plicity than  is  presented  in  the  "  Dairyman's  Daughter," 
whose  author  paints  the  scene  in  a  believer's  death- 
chamber  with  a  pencil  dipped  in  the  varied  and  blend- 
ed colors  of  the  Eainbow  of  the  covenant  1  And  what 
need  I  say  in  recommendation  of  Bunyan, 

"  Ingenious  dreamer  !  in  whose  well-told  tale 
"  Sweet  fiction  and  sweet  truth  alike  prevail — " 

whose  Pilgrim's  Progress  even  England's  Poet  Laureate 
pronounced  a  literary  wonder,  and  exalted  himself  by 
editing.  Can  mortal  hand  rend  the  veil  away  from  the 
face  of  infidelity  more  effectually  than  Keith  has  done, 
who  in  his  work  on  prophecy,  amid  the  ruins  of  em- 
pires, awakes  a  voice  and  renders  legible  the  inscrip- 
tion, ''Verily  there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth." 
Have  you  read  the  ''Village  Funeral]"  Then  you  have 
beheld  (in  its  own  touching  language)  the  whole  scenery 
of  death  glittering  in  the  light  of  immortality.  Can  the 
Universalist  say  otherwise,  on  a  candid  perusal  of  the 
Tracts  that  expose  his  cause,  than  this :  I  have  a  lie  in 
my  right  hand,  and  my  hope  is  like  the  giving  up  of  the 
ghost  1  Can  the  lovers  of  the  dance /ee/  otherwise  than 
that  they  make  themselves  vilel  If  you  wish  to  see 
the  Rock  of  Ages,  "  the  only  Refuge,"  invitingly  set 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  47 

forth  with  the  clouds  about  its  base  and  the  sunshine 
on  its  head,  read  "  the  General's  Widow."  And  there 
too  are  the  productions  of  that  master  mind,  w^hose  gi- 
gantic dimensions  and  mighty  action  none  can  contem- 
plate without  the  homage  of  reverence  approaching 
awe  j  that  could  stoop  and  could  soar,  and  proved  its 
possessor  a  "  son  of  thunder  "  and  ''  of  consolation,"  as 
its  power  is  put  forth  in  the  "  Contrast  of  the  Death  of 
Hume  and  Finley,"  and  '^  Conversation  with  a  Young 
Traveller."  Only  master  the  facts  and  principles  there 
set  forth,  and  you  will  have  ever  at  hand  an  effectual 
quietus  to  that  part  of  shortsighted  and  shallow,  yet 
babbling  and  plausible  infidel  philosophy,  and  may  say 
respecting  it,  as  Moses  respecting  the  Egyptians,  "  Ye 
shall  see  them  no  more."  But  time  would  fail  me  to 
pursue  the  analysis.  Cast  your  eye  along  the  whole 
array  of  this  armory,  which,  though  thus  replete,  is 
but  just  begun.  The  place  is  Mahanaim,  and  these 
are  God's  hosts.  Genesis,  32:  2. 

6.  The  last  plea  we  urge  is  the  providential  character 
and  the  results  of  this  mighty  and  blessed  agency.  It  is  an 
important  maxim,  ''  God  is  in  history."*  There  is  an 
unseen  yet  almighty  hand  behind  the  scenes  of  Provi- 
dence, that  brings  them  forward,  adjusts,  removes  them, 
and  carries  on,  tow^ards  its  finished  stage,  the  Vv^ork  of 
Kedemption,  by  means  of  providential  arrangements  and 
events  which  he  has  linked  in  with  it,  and  caused  to  be 
subservient  to  it.  In  the  birth  of  Moses  and  Samson 
God  raised  up  deliverers^  and  did  not  merely  employ 
what  was  somehow,  but  not  by  him,  adapted  to  the 
emergency  and  ready  to  his  hand.  God  turned  the  scale 
of  battles  which  made  Rome  the  mistress  of  the  world. 
He  gave  fury  to  the  war-horse,  and  strength  and  aim  to 
the  warrior's  arm,  and  preserved  the  spear  and  sword 

*  See  the  magnificent  preface  to  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the 
Reformation. 


48 


PLEA    FOR    THE 


and  shield  unbroken,  because  he  was  preparmg,  by  the 
hushing  and  subjugation  of  the  nations,  a  fulness  of  time 
and  a  mighty  stage  for  introducing  into  the  world  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  In  the  subserviency  of  steam  and  other 
physical  agents  to  moral  uses  we  see  "  the  finger  of 
God  "  as  clearly  as  in  the  qualification  of  Bezaleel,  by 
the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  to  "  devise 
cunning  works  "  in  gold,  and  silver,  and  brass,  and  in 
cutting  of  stones  and  carving  of  timber,  and  all  manner 
of  workmanship  for  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle, 
and  the  ark  of  testimony,  and  the  altar  of  burnt-offering. 
Exodus,  31:2,  11.  We  cannot,  therefore,  regard  the 
invention  of  Printing,  rapidly  perfecting  as  the  Refor- 
mation arose,  otherwise  than  as  a  chosen  part  of  Go(Vs 
instnimentali,ty. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  divine  origin  of  record- 
ing truth  and  law.  As  a  substitute  for  writino-,  and  as 
a  means  of  perpetuating  acts  and  sentiments,  we  see 
nations  renowned  for  arts  resorting  to  the  clumsy  hie- 
^^o^yphicj  or  rearing  the  costly  monument  for  a  single 
ovent.  It  will  aid  our  estimate  of  the  value  of  this  agen- 
cy to  inquire  how  the  Church,  w^hen  she  w^as  struggling 
for  restoration  from  her  captivity  in  modern  Babylon, 
could  possibly  have  dispensed  w^ith  it,  and  to  observe 
what  advantages  she  would  have  lost  had  not  this  help 
been  at  hand.  The  pen  and  the  press  are  simply  means 
of  conveying  and  perpetuating  knowledge.  They  are  to 
a  cause  what  wings  are  to  a  bird  and  feet  to  a  man,  the 
means  of  locomotion.  They  are  a  substitute  for  personal 
presence  and  instruction  ;  and  nothing  can  be  said  in 
commendation  of  their  general  power  w^hich  does  not 
equally  commend  them  in  application  to  our  cause,  and 
so  much  the  more  entitle  them  to  your  liberal  support, 
as  our  object  is  the  pre-eminently  important  one  to  wit- 
ness, to  both  small  and  great,  words  whereby  they  may 
be  saved.    The  apostle,  who  had  no  rest  in  his  spirit  day 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  4-9 

or  night,  and  but  little  in  his  person,  went  where  he 
could :  wdiere  he  could  not  go,  or  where  he  had  been 
and  could  not  go  again,  he  wrote.  The  hand  that  penned 
the  epistles  to  the  Philippians  and  Timothy  was  encum- 
bered with  a  chain,  and  he  makes  a  distinction  between 
restraint  laid  on  the  preacher,  and  the  continued  exten- 
sion of  truth  :  ''  the  word  of  God  is  not  bound." 

On  the  invention  of  printing,  the  Classics  were 
brought  forth  from  the  retirement  of  libraries,  were  il- 
lustrated and  circulated.  A  new  zeal  for  learning  was 
thus  enkindled.  The  public  mind  became  roused  and 
excited  to  quickened  action,  and  was  thus  qualified  to 
''hear  and  inwardly  digest  "  the  weighty  discussions  at 
hand.  Speaking  of  Luther's  theses,  the  historian  says: 
''  The  Head  of  the  Church,  who  sits  in  the  heavens,  and 
to  whom  all  power  is  given,  had  himself  prepared  the 
soil  and  committed  the  seed  to  the  hand  of  his  ser- 
vant. He  gave  wings  to  these  seeds  of  truth,  and  scat- 
tered them  in  a  moment  over  the  whole  field  of  the 
Church."  Do  you  ask  how  %  ''  The  Reformer  had  hardly 
nailed  them  to  the  doors  of  the  church  of  the  castle  of 
Wittemberg,  when  the  feeble  taps  of  his  hammer  are 
succeeded  by  a  thunder-clap  which  shook  the  very 
foundations  of  proud  Rome."  It  was  the  sound  of  the 
going  of  THE  PRESS — "  for  they  spread  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning.  In  a  fortnight  they  spread  over  Saxony — • 
in  a  month  they  had  run  through  all  Christendom,  as  if 
angels  had  been  their  bearers  instead  of  men."* 

Luther  published  several  popular  Tracts  and  Sermons 
— on  the  Ten  Commandments,  Explanation  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  &c.  The  Beast  felt  the  goadings  of  the  spear, 
and  Tetzel  very  naturally  disapproved  of  "  scribbling  so 
many  Books  and  Tracts."  The  Reformer's  voice  was 
heard  beyond  the  confines  of  Germany,  and  in  many 
regions  they  were  the  morning  star  that  ushered  in  the 

*  D'Aubigne,  vol.  l,page  248. 


50 


PLEA   FOR    THE 


auspicious  day  of  Gospel  light.*  The  Colporteurs  light- 
ed up  the  fires  of  the  Reformation  in  the  very  cottages 
of  the  peasants.  Three  presses  were  at  work  on  the 
New  Testament  alone,  striking  off  ten  thousand  sheets 
per  day.  In  a  few  years  seventeen  editions  proceeded 
from  the  press  at  Wittemberg  alone.  Of  Melancthon's 
Loci  Communes,  in  about  seventy  years  there  were 
sixty-seven  editions.  Luther,  alone,  wrote  about  183 
Tracts,  short  treatises,  such  as  the  ^^  times  required," 
each  one  a  nail  fastened  in  a  sure  place  by  a  master's 
hand.  In  France,  Le  Fevre  employed  the  same  agency, 
and  in  1524,  318  years  ago,  there  existed  at  Basle,  hav- 
ing France  for  its  field  of  operation,  a  Bible  Society, 
an  association  of  Colporteurs,  and  a  religious  Tract 
Society. 

These  efforts  do  not  date  therefore  from  our  age  j 
they  go  far  back  and  are  a  tried  instrumentalitjr.  They 
gave  the  Reformers  a  sort  of  ubiquity,  and  proved  like 
the  rod  of  Moses  to  God's  Israel.  It  was  lifted  by  direc- 
tion received  from  the  cloudy  pillar  and  tabernacle,  and 
when  lifted  led  their  march.  As  these  sparks  fell  in 
showers  over  the  nations,  prohibitory  decrees  were  is- 
sued, and  the  powers  of  darkness  strove  to  put  them 
out ;  but  each  one  proved  to  be  fire  from  heaven,  and 
became  a  separate  centre  of  light  and  heat,  until  at 
length,  extending  and  blending,  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
filled  the  land,  and  the  people  no  longer  stumbled  on  in 
their  darkness,  but  rejoiced  among  the  ''  nations  of  the 
saved." 

It  is  but  turning  over  the  same  principle  in  illustra- 
tion to  tell  how  Baxter  and  Flavel  in  troublous  times, 
and  Bunyan  from  Bedford  jail,  wielded  the  pen  when 
they  could  not  officiate  in  person,  and  that  too  with  a 
spirit  and  power  which  told  upon  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness.   Nor  should  the  fruits  of  Tract  operations  in  this 

*  D'Aubigne,  vol.  2,  pp.  21,  22. 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  51 

City   by  missionaries  and   distributers   be  overlooked. 
These  former  have   long  and  effectively  pursued  their 
self-denying  labors  in  this  department  on  means  barely 
sufiicicnt  to  keep  vitality  in  the  silver  cordj  and  none 
but  those  who  will  stop  and  examine,  can  estimate  the 
value  of  their  work.   The  Tract  House  furnishes  a  more 
effective  and  desirable  police  than  the  City  Hall.     The 
records  of  the  Association  I  speak  of,  tell  not  of  com- 
mittals   to  the    penitentiary,    but    introduction   to    the 
prayer-meeting  and  sanctuary.    Their  proposed  remedy 
for  vagrancy  is  to  bring  back  the  wanderer  to  the  Shep» 
herd  and  Bishop  of  souls.  They  thunder  not  at  the  door 
of  offenders  with  the   authority   of  "the  judge  or  the 
officer,"  but  in  meekness  they  instruct  those  who  op- 
pose.   In  the   name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  they  visit  the 
abodes  of  wretchedness  and  guilt,  to  seek  and  save  j  and 
the  guilty  inmates  need  not  run  to  hide  themselves,  for 
they  bring  salvation   on  their  tongues,  and   words  of 
peace  reveal.    They  care  for  those   whom   others  care 
not  for  but  hunt  after.    They  seek  out  the  cause  they 
know  not.    Their  weapons  are  prayer,  and  truth,  and 
love,  and  every  month  you  hear  some  say :  Rejoice  with 
us,  for  we  have  found  the  sheep  that  was  lost.    God  is 
not  unmindful,  and  will  not  forget  your  work  of  faith 
and  labor  of  love.    The  church  blesses  you  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.    We    offer  you   our    congratulations  and 
breathe  upon  you  our  prayers  as  you  pass  in  review. 
You  have  witnesses  on  earth  and  a  record  on  high. 

We  have  testimony  also  to  the  efficacy  of  this  form 
of  instrumentality  in  the  history  of  darkness  as  well  as 
light.  Of  Tracts,  Books,  Encyclopedias,  there  are  other 
than  religious  ones.  Poison  instead  of  health  was  infus- 
ed into  the  fountain  of  knowledge  by  the  French  phi- 
losophers. The  press  laid  the  train  whose  explosion 
shook  down  the  throne  of  France,  prepared  the  grave 
of  myriads,  deranged  and  convulsed  the  civilized  world, 


52  PLEA   FOR    THE 

and  has  opened,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  anti-chris- 
tian  conspiracy  was  carried  on,  a  volcano  whose  porten- 
tous heavings  even  now  constrain  us  with  the  prophet 
to  exclaim,  "  Wo  is  me !  my  soul  is  weary  because  of 
murderers,  and  my  sighs  are  many  and  my  heart  is 
faint." 

The  Press — it  is  adapted  to  do  wonders — it  can  do 
wonders — it  has  done  wonders.  With  its  power  of 
multiplication,  it  is  a  moral  and  intellectual  repeating 
rifle — one  can  chase  a  thousand  as  easily  as  a  material 
one  can  defend  an  individual  against  the  assaults  of  a 
gang.  All  we  ask  is,  allow  us  the  instrumentality  and 
do  not  cripple  us  in  its  use — hand  on  the  truth  and  fur- 
nish us  the  means  of  discharging  it,  and,  with  God^s 
blessing,  we  fear  not  for  the  issue. 

Although  the  two  causes  which  stand  opposed  employ 
the  same  methods  of  warfare,  we  have  hope  that  we 
shall  prevail,  because  wickedness  is  selfish,  and  has  no 
heart  and  feels  no  bands.  To  the  extent  of  personal  in- 
terest, or  under  temporary  impulses,  it  may  do  much  and 
act  vigorously ;  yet  it  will  not  sustain  apostles,  nor  in- 
stitute missions,  nor  inspire  martyrdom.  Righteousness, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  liberal,  principled,  has  hope,  con- 
tends for  all,  is  incorruptible,  and  sustains  this  and  all 
needed  additional  instrumentalities.  Wickedness  is 
false.  Ours  is  the  cause  of  truth.  We  speak  to  the  con- 
science, whereas  till  men  reach  a  certain  point  in  ini- 
quity, they  find  it  hard  to  kick  against  the  pricks — a 
traitor  always  fights  faintly.  Wickedness  has  the  as- 
surance of  going  into  perdition,  but  with  us  is  ''  the 
mighty  God."  If  the  Tract  be  not  an  original  sun,  a 
light-bearer  "  in  the  beginning,"  it  may  at  least  perform 
the  office  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  which  was  a  cre- 
ation for  a  particular  occasion,  and  yielded  a  light  so 
peculiar  that  it  attracted  notice  and  fixed  the  gaze  and 
gently  drew  on  even  magiy  until  it  paused  over  the  per- 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  53 

son  of  Immanuel,  and  having  performed  its  office  in 
bringing  them  there,  it  disappeared  and  left  them  to 
wonder  and  adore. 

Having  thus  exhibited  the  ground  on  which  we  rest 
our  claim  on  your  attention  and  liberality,  allow  me,  in 
the  conclusion  of  this  discourse,  to  urge  the  importance 

of  putting  forth  NEV/  vigor  in  this  DEPARTME^•T  OF 
CHRISTIAN    BENEVOLENCE. 

First,   then,  I    ask  what   shall   be   the   effect   of  this 
combined  review   of  facts,  and  principles,  and  circum- 
stances %  We  have  caught  a  view  of  the  genius  and  in- 
fluence  of  the  Gospel   of  the  ever-blessed  God.    We 
have  traced  the  course  of  evangelical  literature,  like  the 
Nile  through  the  sands  of  Egypt,  by  its  fertility,  and 
have  read  its  history  in  the  light  of  His  smiles.  He  who 
has  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  has  set  before  us  an 
open  door.    W^e  have  looked  upon  the  slain  and  v/ound- 
ed  and  exposed,  and  novj  v:hat  is  our  decision?  Hove  we 
felt  compassion  rise,  or  shall  we  pass  by  on  the  other 
side  1    May  we  not  hope  for   something  allied  lo  what 
ensued  in  Israel,  when  Hilkiah  the  priest  brought  to 
Josiah  the  book  of  the  long-lost  and  neglected  law;  a 
book,  a  record,  a  rule  in  permanent  form,  that  had  not 
degenerated,  though  the  priests  handled  not  the  law, 
though  the  princes  had  become  vain  and  their  judges 
were  like  evening  wolves — when  light  flashed,  and  a 
sense   of  obligation   startled,   and   conviction  was  felt, 
and  confession  was  made,  and  reform  ensued,  and  idols 
tottered  and  fell.  I  know  not  how  to  estimate  the  com- 
parative value  of  the  talents  entrusted  to  us,  but  amono- 
the  most  precious  is  personal  influence  and  wealth,  and 
their  burial  and  abuse  are  among  the  heaviest  items  in 
our  account — what  we  have  omitted  to  do  when  it  was 
in  the  power   of  our  hand  to  do  it — "  ye  gave  me  no 
meat— ye  gave  me  no  drink— ye  took  me  not  in."    To 

11* 


54  PLEA   FOR    THE 

be  consistent,  we  must  either  abandon  or  maintain  the 
cause — are  you  prepared  for  a  decision  1  Would  any 
here  dare  to  loosen  the  first  stone  as  the  commence- 
ment of  a  process  of  dismantling  1  Would  you  not  fear 
the  fate  of  him,  who,  though  a  king,  had  the  arm 
withered  which  he  dared  to  pat  forth  with  unhallowed 
design  toward  the  altar  1  And  if  mistaken  zeal  in  sup- 
porting the  ark  when  it  trembled  and  was  in  appearance 
nigh  to  falling,  met  with  death,  of  how  much  sorer  pun- 
ishment shall  he  be  thought  worthy  who  would  touch  it 
with  a  view  to  its  arrest.  If,  like  the  younger  son,  you 
have  said,  I  will  not,  like  him,  repent  and  go — and  hav- 
ing said,  I  go,  sir,  beware  of  drawing  back. 

Call,  if  you  please,  our  cause  a  little  one — recollect 
we  do  not  allow  this  to  be  its  character,  we  protest 
against  the  thought — yei  if  you  will  call  it  so,  then  hear 
me  when  I  ask,  Whose  cause  is  ill  and  ponder  what  he 
saith,  ''  He  that  is  unfaithful  in  the  least,  is  unfaithful 
also  in  much."  When  you  came  to  Christ  you  made  no 
reserve  in  or  selection  of  duty.  Your  inquiry  was, 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  V  Any  thing  but 
indifference.  Give,  though  it  be  the  widow's  mite,  but 
pronounce  on  us  also  your  blessing,  only  let  both  come 
from  the  heart. 

Call,  if  you  please,  my  argument  weak — but  honor 
the  cause  as  mighty.  We  only  claim,  proportionate  re- 
gard, and  this  recently  it  has  not  been  our  privilege  to 
receive.  We  are  one  of  a  family  of  interests.  We  dare 
not  indulge  or  express,  neither  do  we  ask  a  preference. 
We  cannot  say  w^hich  one  we  would  relinquish,  more 
than  a  father  could  say  which,  out  of  a  numerous  and 
even  cumbersome  family,  he  would  be  willing  to  spare 
for  conscription  or  death.  Be  it  Joseph,  or  Simeon,  or 
Benjamin,  if  evil  befall,  it  will  wring  a  father's  heart. 
The  Savior  is  not  here  in  person.  The  only  opportunity 
of  thus  glorifying  him  is  during  our  stay  on  earth,  and 


EVANGELICAL    PRESS.  55 

though  you  may  call  this  the  least  of  all  methods — call 
us  dogs — j-et  the  dogs  eat  the  crumbs  that  fall  from 
their  Master's  table.  And  there  is  an  encouraging  assu- 
rance to  help  it  forward  even  on  your  own  principles 
and  views :  ''  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least 
of  one  of  these,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

Come,  brethren,  let  us  be  candid  and  come  to  the 
light.    Cold  hearts   and  carnal  affections  lie  back  of  all 
our  excuses  and  reluctance.     Come,    let    us  catch  the 
glow  of  the  sentiment,  ''  I  am  not  my  own,  I  am  bought 
with  a  price.    No   man   liveth  to   himself,  and  no   man 
dieth  to  himself;  for  whether  Ave   live,  Vv'e   live   to  the 
Lord,  and  whether  we   die,  we   die  unto  the  Lord ;  so 
that  whether  we  live  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's."    Nay 
morCj  let   us   not  limit   our  efforts  by  the  prospect  of 
dying,  but  catch  the  spirit  of  Peter,  who  endeavored  to 
stir  up  pure  minds  and  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of 
truth  beyond  the  time  of  his  own  decease ;  and  of  Pay- 
son,  who  believing  that  Christ  might  be  magnified  by  the 
extension  of  his  testimony,  directed  that   there  should 
be  a  paper  pinned  on  the  bosom  of  his  very  shroud,  re- 
minding all  who  came  to  take  a  last  look,  of  the  ^Svords 
he  had  spoken  being  yet  present  with  them,"  and  who 
thus  preached  from  his  coffin,  and  spoke,  though  dead. 
I  shrink  within  myself  at  the  thought  of  the  place  I 
occupy  on  the  present  occasion.  I  would  stir  you  to  en- 
nobling and  appropriate  action  by  reminding  each  one 
of  the  honor  of  belonfyins:  to  a  council  of  deliberation 
such   as  this — not  like   Napoleon's   stafJ',   haggard  and 
aghast,  consulting,  amid  the   frowning  horrors  of  the 
Kremlin,  by  the  glare  of  conflagration  lighting  up  the 
darkness  of  the  surrounding  scenery,  how  they  might 
safely  retreat — not  like  them  on  the  field  of  Borodino 
or  Waterloo,  where  amid  the  flash  and  roar  of  artillery 
and  rolling  clouds   of  smoke,  dense  columns  might  be 
seen  rapidly  moving  to  support  a  flagging  line  in  the 


56  PLEA    FOR    THE 

fiendlike  work  of  mutual  destruction — but  with  pity  in 
heart  and  hope  in  the  promises,  we  have  come  together 
to  devise  liberal  things,  to  arrange  a  decisive  movement 
in  behalf  of  a  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace  and  joy ; 
to  spread,  as  Hezekiah  did,  the  letter  of  the  king  of  a 
warring  host  before  the  Lord ;  and  with  the  disciples, 
when  gathered  with  "  their  own  company,"  to  lift  our 
voice  to  God  with  one  accord  and  say,  "  Lord,  thou  art 
God,  which  hast  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  sea, 
and  all  that  in  them  is ;  who  by  the  mouth  of  thy  ser- 
vant David  hast  said,  Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  vain  things  1  The  kings  of  the  earth 
stood  up,  and  the  rulers  were  gathered  together  against 
the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ.  And  now.  Lord,  behold 
their  threatenings ;  and  grant  to  thy  servants  that  with 
all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word."    Acts,  4. 

Secondly.  Let  us  take  encouragement  from  ike  ccr- 
iainty  of  the  issue,  Christ  '^  must  reign."  "  Thy  throne, 
O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever."  Our  agency  is  directly  in 
the  line  of  the  revealed  purposes  of  God,  and  as  natu- 
rally bears  on  this  result  as  the  sowing  of  seed  on  the 
luxuriance  of  the  harvest.  '^  Truth  shall  spring  out  of 
the  earth,  and  righteousness  look  down  from  heaven." 
God  will  not  make  void  his  covenant,  nor  profane  the 
crown  of  Immanuel  by  casting  it  down  to  the  ground. 
The  efforts  of  earth  and  hell  against  the  church  shall  no 
more  avail  for  her  destruction,  than  the  weight  of  the 
shadow  of  a  passing  cloud  can  shatter  a  pyramid.  The 
agency  by  which  God  will  effect  this  is  as  undeniable 
as  the  end  is  sure  and  will  be  glorious.  "  Thou  art,  O 
Israel,  my  servant,  by  whom  I  will  be  glorified.  Is  it  a 
light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant  to  raise 
up  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of 
Israel  1  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles, 
that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth."  "  These  are  they  that  war  with  the  Lamb,  but  the 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  57 

Lamb  shall  overcome  ;  because  he  is  King  of  kings, 
and  Lord  of  lords ;  and  his  people  are  called,  and  cho- 
sen, and  faithful." 

To  us  first  has  God  given  the  injunction  and  oppor- 
tunity. He  has  not  come  to  us  because  he  is  at  a  loss 
for  instrumentality.  If  even  a  Moses  die,  Joshua  stands 
prepared  to  introduce  to  Canaan;  and  if  Judas  becomes 
a  traitor,  a  Matthias  is  at  hand  to  take  his  bishopric  and 
perform  the  work  of  an  apostle.  The  emergency  I  have 
attempted  to  delineate  happens  in  our  day.  Our  per- 
sonal interest  and  the  welfare  of  Zion  are  deeply  in- 
volved. We  feel  a  sense  of  obligation,  and  incitements 
and  suggestions,  which  being  interpreted  are  the  whis- 
pers of  the  Spirit  to  our  hearts.  I  would  make  to  you 
the  emphatic  and  thrilling  appeal  of  Mordecai  to  Es- 
ther, when  she  hesitated  to  go  in  to  the  king,  though 
the  decree  of  destruction  was  signed,  and  Haman  wait- 
ed impatiently  and  confidently  to  hear  the  burst  of 
wailing  that  would  proceed  from  a  whole  nation  doom- 
ed and  dying,  "  Think  not  with  thyself  that  thou  shali 
escape  in  the  king's  house,  more  than  all  the  Jews.  For 
if  thou  altogether  boldest  thy  peace  at  this  time,  then 
shall  there  enlargement  and  deliverance  arise  from  an- 
other place  ;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house  shall  be 
destroyed,  and  who  knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to 
the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this." 

Thirdly.  A  powerful  and  constraining  consideration 
is,  that  our  benevolence  reacts  on  ourselves  in  our  dear- 
est earthly  as  well  as  spiritual  and  eternal  interests ; 
and  that  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christ  in  this  form, 
we  are  performing  an  act  of  self-preservation.  There  are 
few  of  the  numerous  travellers  who  swarm  our  land, 
who  understand  the  mechanism  by  which  they  are 
carried  forward,  or  who  are  aware  that  danger  im- 
pends, until  it  is  upon  them,  and  they  find  themselves 
disabled  and  amid  a  wreck.    It  is  with  nations  as  with 


58  PLEA   FOR    THE 

individuals:  God  girds  tliem  though  they  have  not 
known  him.  We  know  not  the  spring  of  our  blessings; 
and  but  few  undertake  in  public  affairs,  deliberately  and 
dispassionately  to  trace  effects  to  their  causes,  or  are 
willing  to  apply  a  correcting  hand. 

Ours  is  a  government,  not  of  force,  but  of  law.  Laws 
(it  is  a  trite  remark)  are  but  the  index  and  reflection  of 
public  sentiment.  The  jars  and  commotions  we  see  and 
feel,  show  that  there  is  something  out  of  place  :  that 
something  is  the  public  conscience.  Wisdom  and  know- 
ledge are  the  only  sources  of  stable  times — the  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  our  treasure.  The  collisions  of  truth  and  er- 
ror in  our  day  are  not  mere  '^  strivings  after  masteries ;" 
they  are  a  struggle  for  life.  There  has  been  an  onset 
studiously  made — what  you  witness  is  the  reaction  of 
healthful  and  conservative  influences. 

Demagogueism  is  our  curse,  as  it  has  proved  the 
blight  of  all  republics.  The  materiel  it  wields,  and  by 
which  it  hopes  to  triumph,  is  what  we  strive  to  purify, 
and  enlighten,  and  elevate  :  viz.  the  common  mind.  There 
are  men  in  every  land,  and  there  are  men  in  this,  who 
would  build  their  greatness  even  on  their  country's  ruin, 
who  would  dig  the  grave  of  this  republic,  if  they  could 
but  obtain  the  elevation  afforded  by  its  mound.  We 
have  reached  that  appalling  stage  of  corruption  in  which 
we  see  '^  dwarfish  virtues  and  gigantic  crimes  and  occa- 
sional eruptions  of  anarchy  and  crime." 

The  mere  sentimentalities  of  religion,  however  touch- 
ing and  true,  are  not  sufficient  to  counteract  the  pres- 
sure of  evil  we  sustain :  such  as  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches;  the  emptiness  of  grandeur;  the  vanity  of  the 
world — Leviathan  is  not  so  tamed.  We  need  to  carry 
applied  truth  to  the  bench,  the  bar,  the  jury-room,  the 
ballot-box,  the  conclave  of  the  politician,  the  hall  of  the 
legislator,  the  counter  of  the  merchant,  and  the  shop  of 
the  mechanic.    The  ministry  need  a  double  portion  oi 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  59 

the  spirit  that  rested  on  Elias  to  speak  intelligently  and 
fearlessly  "  the  testimonies  of  God  before  kings."  If 
the  people  are  incorruptible  their  representatives  must 
be  honest ;  for  our  rulers,  if  we  only  made  them  know 
it,  are  not  our  masters,  but  our  servants.  It  is  a  con 
elusion  deliberately  and  firmly  held  and  demonstrably 
true,  that  the  only  safety  of  this  mighty  nation  from 
civil  war,  dissolution  of  our  political  union,  religious 
error,  anarchy  and  final  despotism,  is  ta  be  found  in  the 
sobering,  self-denying  influence  of  the  religion  of  the 
Son  of  God.  The  Church  must  stand  in  the  breach. 
Speedy  "  running,"  unsparing  exertions,  uncounted  trea- 
sures, smoking  censers,  elevation  above  partizanship 
and  personal  considerations,  a  regard  to  principle  above 
policy,  and  personal  consecration — these  are  the  reme- 
dies on  which  hope  depends.  It  was  but  a  few  years 
ago  that  a  statesman  of  France,  pressed  out  of  strength 
by  the  weight,  and  bewildered  by  the  complexity  of 
national  affairs,  and  appalled  by  the  refractory  and  in- 
subordinate spirit  of  the  nation,  made  the  chamber  of 
his  confinement  and  death  ring  with  shrieks  and  the 
outcry,  ''  France  wants  a  religion  !  France  wants  a  re- 
ligion !"  Give  us  only  the  power  and  prevalence  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  and  the  true  national  policy 
will  speedily  and  easily  be  discerned,  and  when  dis- 
cerned, folloAved  with  one  heart  and  one  mind.  Yes,  put 
a  Bible  and  an  evangelical  literature  and  secure  the 
worship  of  God  in  the  humbler  dwellings  of  the  land, 
and  I  fear  not  the  efforts  of  force  from  without  or  cor- 
ruption within.  ''  From  scenes  like  these  our  country's 
grandeur  springs — this  makes  her  loved  at  home,  rever- 
ed abroad,"  and  will  plant  a  'Wirtuous  populace,"  to 
stand  like  "  a  wall  of  fire  "  around  our  institutions  and 
interests. 

Fourthly.  Is  there  a  plea  of  the  hardness  of  the  Hmes 
and  commercial  revulsions  and  embarrassments'?   These 


60  PLEA   FOR    THE 

are  the  very  circumstances  to  try  the  integrity  and 
strength  of  our  faith.  God  will  shew  himself  strong  in 
oar  behalf  in  the  day  of  trouble.  As  if  to  contrast  the 
spirit  of  the  world  and  the  spirit  that  is  of  God,  at  the 
very  time  when  the  nations  of  Europe  were  drained  of 
treasure  and  yet  covered  with  the  smoke  of  numerous 
battlefields,  the  august  form  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  rose  before  their  view,  allie^  in  its  cheer- 
ing influences  to  the  appearance  of  the  Savior  himself 
to  the  disciples  when  benighted  and  tossing  on  stormy 
Tiberias.  The  American  Bible  Society  came  into  vig- 
orous existence  immediately  after  the  exhaustion,  tu- 
mult and  blood  of  the  last  war,  as  a  blessed  instrumen- 
tality to  bind  up  the  wounds  that  had  been  inflicted,  and 
to  hold  in  check  the  corruption  naturally  engendered. 
And  NOW  seems  to  be  a  set  and  appropriate  time  for  the 
church  to  make  even  her  deep  poverty  abound  to  the 
riches  of  her  liberality,  and  to  exhibit  the  strength  and 
peculiarity  of  her  principles,  by  emerging  from  the  deep 
and  bitter  waters  in  which  she  has  struggled  and  been 
steeped  so  long,  with  a  song  of  praise  on  her  lips  and  a 
thank-ofTering  in  her  hands. 

We  might  consistently  plead  embarrassment  if  we 
carried  retrenchment  through  all  our  departments  of 
expenditure,  and  if  our  cannot  were  one  we  expected  or 
could  dare  to  use  in  the  day  of  account.  Cannot  I  do  we 
arrest  our  substantial  interests,  or  business,  or  the  edu- 
cation of  our  families,  and  decrease  our  own  comforts 
from  this  cause  1  and  if  not,  do  we  mean,  when  God  cor- 
rects us  for  our  iniquity,  that  the  blows  of  his  provi- 
dence shall  give  us  only  a  glancing  stroke  and  shall  fall 
with  their  heaviest  effects  on  his  own  cause  1  Cannot ! 
that  single  stick  of  confectionary  v/ith  which  you  have 
just  indulged  your  child  has  robbed  the  world  of  fifteen 
pages  of  evangelical  light;  and  that  well-flavored  cigar 
with  which  you  regale  yourself  in   reclining  attitude, 


EVAXGELICAL   PRESS.  61 

arrayed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  after  *^  daily  sump- 
tuous fare,"  stands  over  on  God's  book  against  you  for 
ninety  pages  of  his  truth,  if  you  make  cannot  your  pica 
and  turn  away  his  cause  unassisted  from  your  door 
Cannot !  Give  me  the  crunibs  that  fall  from  your  tables, 
the  value  of  what  you  waste  ;  and  in  the  Savior's  ser- 
vice five  small  loaves  shall  feed  as  many  thousands. 
Cannot  I  We  can  if  we  are  m  earnest.  A  blood-bought 
sinner  talk  so  !  when  a  dancing  courtezan  pockets  thirty 
or  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  when  the  damages 
of  a  single  breach  of  engagement  are  laid  at  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  and  all  this  merely  because  men  love 
their  pleasures,  and  bestow  their  treasure  where  they  have 
placed  their  heart — when  on  a  brutal  prize-fight  poor 
men  will  stake  their  hundreds — w^hen  the  water  of  your 
city  of  three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  has  cost  its 
millions — cannot  we  spare  a  little  for  the  conveyance 
of  a  rill  of  the  river  of  life  through  the  weary  heritage 
of  twice  as  many  millions  ready  to  perish  1  When  the 
nation  has  expended  one  hundred  millions  to  recover  a 
region  of  uninhabitable  everglade  from  a  horde  of  sa- 
vages, shall  this  great  land  refuse  for  the  aggregate  of 
all  her  annual  charities  the  comparative  pittance  of  half 
a  million  to  give  to  Jesus  the  crown  of  earth *?  Cannot! 
You  will  think  otherwise  of  the  value  of  earthly  trea- 
sures when  the  fires  of  the  judgment  shall  melt  down  gold 
and  silver  as  it  does  the  rocks.  Cannot !  take  back  that 
word,  for  you  must  answer  for  it  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. It  is  not  true.  There  is  not  one  here  but  that 
"  lies  to  the  Holy  Ghost "  when  he  says  so,  if  he  means 
to  be  understood  literally.  Is  there  one  here  who  has 
not  "  kept  back  part  of  the  price,"  who  has  done  what 
he  could  ?  and  shall  we  not  henceforth  tremblingly  for- 
bear refusal  to  appropriate  any  thing  of  which  confess- 
edly "  the  Lord  has  need." 

Finally.  What  is  wished  is,  without  permanent  funds 


62  PLEA    FOR    THE 

or  interest  arising  from  investments,  to  render  the 
American  Tract  Society  a  permanent  Institution,  to 
raise  it  from  the  character  of  a  mere  contingency,  a 
floating  beacon,  subject  to  the  influence  of  neglect,  and 
the  action  of  the  winds  and  waves,  to  that  of  a  fixed 
star  that  shall  shine  equably^  brightly^  ever^  to  which  the 
wanderer  on  the  world  of  waves  may  look  with  full  per- 
suasion of  sure  guidance  and  friendly  aid.  To  efl'ect 
this  we  need  not  the  impulses  of  excited  feeling,  but  the 
steady  influence  of  principled  and  intelligent  attachment. 
These  results  may  be  secured  if  the  Church  will  be 
systematically  benevolent ;  if  she  will  send  forth  con- 
stant supplies  from  a  full  spring  j  if  men  will  in  the 
main  be  the  executors  of  their  own  charities,  and  prove, 
in  their  sphere  and  daily  course,  like  the  sun,  dispensing 
genial  influence — if  like  a  "  fine  setting  sun"  they  will 
become  richer  and  shine  brighter  and  loom  larger  iii 
the  grace  of  christian  benevolence  as  they  approach 
the  horizon,  and  if  they  will  also  "  bless  the  world 
when  they  go  out  of  it,  with  a  parting  smile." 

Let  us  also  form  ennobling  ideas  of  the  great  design 
of  life  and  of  true  elevation  of  character,  and  hand  over 
to  the  Church,  when  we  are  gone,  a  generation  who 
shall  better  serve  the  Lord.  Adam  says  that  a  poor 
country  minister,  resisting  the  devil  as  he  goes  the 
rounds  of  his  parish,  has  nobler  ideas  of  true  glory  than. 
Alexander  had.  Cecil  carries  out  the  sentiment  by  saying 
that  "  the  aged  woman  who  rises  at  t\,'o  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  lights  her  farthing  candle,  stands  all  day  over 
her  wash-tub,  at  night  throws  around  her  her  threadbare 
a.Tid  faded  cloak,  and  steals  out  to  some  place  of  wor- 
ship, hears  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  mingled  it  may  be 
with  ignorant  yet  honest  zeal,  but  drawing  in  good  into 
an  honest  and  prepared  heart,  is  a  heroine,  has  a  noble 
mind,  an  elevated  soul,  compared  with  the  greatest  of 
men,  considered  as  mere  men  of  the  world." 


EVANGELICAL   PRESS.  63 

Whether  Constantlne  the  great  saw  a  cross  and  an 
inscription  over  it  in  the  sky,  or  not,  the  sentiment 
conveyed  is  true,  and  to  gather  inspiration  from  it  is 
our  privilege.  Yes,  blessed  Savior,  by  thee  we  shall 
be  made  conquerors,  and  more  than  conquerors.  One 
of  the  most  affecting  features  of  our  present  condition  is 
this,  that  while  we  delay  we  are  mocking  the  hopes  and 
fail  to  satisfy  the  appetite  ourselves  have  excited.  Are 
you  willing  that  your  Institution,  a  stately  vessel,  on 
its  eighteenth  annual  voyage  in  a  circumnavigation 
of  charity,  after  her  form  is  becoming  known  to  the 
nations,  her  merchandise  ''  more  precious  than  rubies," 
and  her  return  watched  for  and  hailed,  should,  with 
the  white  flag  at  her  mast  head  and  the  banner  of  the 
cross  at  her  peak,  and  a  consignment  of  all  on  board 
to  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  just  come  (as  we  have  done) 
within  view  of  the  perishing,  and  for  want  of  canvass  to 
catch  the  breezes  that  favor,  or  fuel  to  keep  alive  her 
fires,  or  even  zeal  to  warp  her  along,  should  slack  her 
motion,  and  merely  drift  and  toss  about  lazily  at  the 
mercy  of  the  elements,  instead  of  causing  the  sound 
of  her  going  to  be  heard,  and  the  "  deep  in  her  wake  to 
be  hoary  1" 

If  in  the  conflict  with  Amalek,  the  heart  of  Israel 
was  strengthened,  and  their  blows  fell  thicker,  heavier, 
heartier,  as  they  glanced  at  Horeb's  hoary  summit,  and 
saw  in  bold  relief  against  the  sky,  the  form  of  Moses 
with  lifted  hands  and  imploring  look,  for  your  en- 
couragement in  your  present  enterprise,  turn  your 
eye  "  to  the  everlasting  hills."  There,  there  stands 
the  great  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  everlivmg  to 
intercede.  The  crown  of  the  universe  is  on  his  head, 
the  tear  of  pity  trembles  in  his  eye,  his  hands  are  lift- 
ed— his  prayers  are  prevalent — we  fight  under  his  in- 
spection, and  victory  is  sure.  See  what  a  bright  crown 
he  holds  forth  to  those  who  ''  turn  many  to  righteous- 


64  PLEA   FOR    THE    EVANGELICAL   PRESS. 

ness.''  Listen  to  his  assurance  :  *'  They  that  be  wise 
shall  shine."  ''  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to 
sit  with  me  on  my  throne  j  even  as  I  also  have  over- 
come, and  am  seated  with  my  Father  on  his  throne." 

O  the  power,  the  rapture  of  the  thought  that  we 
liave  peace  on  earth,  that  we  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — that  peace  is  preach- 
ed to  them  that  are  afar  off,  and  to  them  that  are  nigh ; 
that  the  worst  days  of  this  suffering  world  are  over  j 
that  "  the  night  is  far  spent  and  the  day  is  at  hand  "  in 
which  the  clouds  that  hide  the  face  of  God  from  our 
view  will  retire  ;  when  the  rainbow  of  the  covenant, 
once  spread  over  them,  shall  have  for  its  only  ground 
the  darkness  of  the  mystery  and  grandeur  of  the  God- 
head, and  will  be  arched  and  fixed  forever  over  the 
very  throne  of  judgment ;  when  there  will  henceforth 
be  nothing  to  shade  the  brightness  of  our  heritage, 
and  when  our  world  shall  revolve  in  the  full  light  of 
Jehovah's  reconciled  countenance,  and  as  it  '*  rolls 
burningly  along "  shall  send  up  its  shouts  of  salva- 
tion loud  as  his  thunder  and  lofty  as  his  throne. 

It  is  an  impressive  sentiment  that  we  shall  soon 
leave  the  region  where  so  much  is  in  rebellion  against 
God,  but  we  shall  go  where  all  that  pass  from  our 
world  must  present  themselves  as  from  a  battle,  or  be 
denied  the  privilege  of  mingling  in  the  eternal  joys 
and  triumphs  of  conquerors. 

Our  force  is  on  the  field,  the  lines  are  drawn,  the 
standards  are  raised,  the  trumpet  sounds  the  onset — and 
unless  it  can  be  shown  that  this  agency  is  not  connect- 
ed with  this  glorious  consummation,  there  is  no  alter- 
native, and  there  is  no  admissible  discharge  from  the 
service  of  this  holy  war.  "  Speak  to  the  children  of 
Israel  that  they  GO  FORWARD."    Amen. 


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